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A Delhi court on Saturday ordered registration of FIR against Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani, writer Arundhati Roy and five others for their speeches made at a meeting in New Delhi on October 21.

“The Delhi police is hereby directed to lodge an FIR under relevant provisions of the Indian Penal Code and file a report in this regard on January 6, 2011 the next date of hearing,” Metropolitan Magistrate Navita Kumari Bagha said.

The court rejected the status report submitted by the Delhi Police which said no offence relating to sedition and other charges were made out against Mr. Geelani and others.

It said there were prime facie cogent evidence against the accused and asked the police to further investigate the allegations and file a compliance report.

The court had earlier pulled up the police for failing to submit proper status report on the complaint filed with them on October 28 by Sushil Pandit seeking registration of FIR against Ms. Roy and Mr. Geelani.

Besides Mr. Geelani and Ms. Roy, the complaint sought prosecution of five others, including Delhi University professor S.A.R. Geelani, who was acquitted in Parliament attack case, and Sheikh Showkat Hussain, a professor of Jammu and Kashmir University.

According to the complaint, the accused made the comments at a convention in New Delhi on October 21.

The Hurriyat leader shared the dais with Ms. Roy and Maoist ideologue Vara Vara Rao among others. Mr. Geelani was heckled by a section of the audience during the meeting.