An Indian-born British doctor has spent the last three months unable to return home to the United Kingdom after Mumbai Police issued a Look Out Circular (LOC) against him over a social media post concerning Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Dr Sangram Patil, a UK-based consultant with the National Health Service (NHS) and a YouTuber with over 4,73,000 subscribers, is currently awaiting relief from the Bombay High Court. The court has not yet ruled on his petition but is examining the legality of both the FIR and the travel restriction that has prevented him from leaving India.
The case stems from a Facebook post Patil made on December 14, 2025, writing, “On Modi’s s** scandal, there is utter silence among BJP andh bhakts (blind devotees) and 40 other people given money.”
On the same day, Nikhil Bhamre, social media head of the Maharashtra unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), filed a complaint. The FIR was registered on December 18 at N.M. Joshi Marg police station in Lower Parel. According to the complaint, Patil had uploaded "objectionable and defamatory content on Facebook that was misleading and capable of disturbing public harmony," as per the FIR.
Patil, who holds British citizenship, had travelled to India on a tourist visa for a short personal visit and intended to return to the UK. However, after he landed in Mumbai on January 10, 2026, he was detained and questioned by the Mumbai Police Crime Branch at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport. Subsequent attempts to leave the country were blocked due to the LOC.
Opposing Patil's petition, Mumbai Police filed an affidavit on February 6 sworn by the Deputy Commissioner of Police (Detection) Raj Tilak Roushan. It said that Patil has circulated posts capable of promoting disharmony and enmity between communities and had uploaded “indecent, derisive, degrading and salacious content” on the PM. It also alleged that the doctor attempted to evade Indian law enforcement by using foreign IP addresses and digital intermediaries, continuing to upload "inflammatory and scandalous content" even after an investigation began against him in December 2025.
“I say that petitioner Dr Sangram Patil, a foreign national holding United Kingdom citizenship, has posted content on Facebook, making serious and scandalous allegations of a lascivious nature against the Hon’ble Prime Minister of India,” the police affidavit stated.
Police also argued that the alleged actions could be "part of a larger, organised effort aimed at maligning constitutional authority and disturbing public order." They accused Patil of non-cooperation, claiming he refused to grant full access to his Facebook account and cited technical issues related to a one-time password linked to a device in the UK.
Patil, in a rejoinder filed on February 9, denied the allegations. He stated that he had cooperated fully with investigators, appeared before the Crime Branch, and that "no custodial interrogation has been sought so far."
He further denied that the “said post mentions the Hon’ble Prime Minister of India by name or makes any direct or indirect reference identifiable exclusively to the Prime Minister”. He added that the police were attributing meanings based on “subjective political interpretation”.
The doctor accused the police of attempting to “criminalise political speech, justify an illegal LOC post facto, chill dissent, and abuse the criminal process.”
Addressing the demand to seize his devices, Patil maintained that he had already admitted authorship of the post and provided both documentary and oral evidence. He also denied claims that he continued to publish derogatory content after the FIR was filed.
“The impugned FIR does not reproduce the alleged posts verbatim, does not specify which sentence constitutes an offence, and does not disclose how the statutory ingredients of Section 353(2) BNS are attracted,” he said.
The case is scheduled for the next hearing on February 17, when the high court is expected to consider if the FIR and travel restrictions on the doctor can be legally sustained, or he can be allowed to go back home.
