Nainital, Dec 9 (PTI) The Uttarakhand High Court has stayed the arrest of former Sitarganj Municipal Council chairman Harish Dubey, who has been accused of hurting religious sentiments, and directed the state government to file its reply in the matter within three weeks.

Dubey had approached the court seeking the quashing of the FIR registered against him for allegedly hurting religious sentiments.

Justice Ashish Naithani fixed February 20, 2026 as the next date of hearing in the matter and directed the petitioner to cooperate with the investigation.

The court also issued a notice to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) councillor Deepak Gupta, who got the FIR lodged against Dubey.

In his plea, Dubey has said Gupta got the case lodged against him on December 3, following which the Sitarganj Po

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