Bengaluru, Oct 23 The Karnataka High Court has quashed a criminal case registered against Sandeep Kumar, administrator of the social media account ‘Karnataka Portfolio’, for reposting a report about six youths allegedly threatening a woman with a knife in Puttur.
The court held that the allegations did not make out the offence of circulating false information or rumours with the intent to promote enmity or hatred between different communities.
Justice M Nagaprasanna, in the order pronounced on October 16, also issued guidelines to police to prevent mechanical registration of criminal cases over social media posts, multiple FIRs arising from the same incident and arbitrary exercise of police powers.
The bench passed the order on a petition filed by Sandeep Kumar, administrator of Karnataka Portfolio, represented by advocate Girish Bharadwaj.
The court directed the Karnataka Director General and Inspector General of Police to ensure strict compliance.
“It is not a stray incident or a generated incident that the petitioner re-posts. It was a serious incident of six young men forming a group, following or stalking a woman in their Thar SUV and threatening her time and again,” the court observed.
It further stated that the administrator had only tweeted “law and order under fire”.
The court noted that seven cases had been registered at the same police station in connection with the incident.
It observed that the complaint and the administrator’s post did not name any religious groups or otherwise indicate an intention to promote communal disharmony.
The court relied on Supreme Court judgments emphasising that the offence requires the essential ingredients, including the requisite intention to promote enmity between groups. It also underscored the constitutional protection of freedom of speech and expression.
Under its guidelines, the court directed police to scrutinise the ingredients of an alleged offence arising from a social media post, examine successive complaints relating to the same incident and avoid registering fresh cases merely because the complainants differ, unless a legally distinct offence is disclosed.
It also said registration of a crime must not automatically result in arrest and directed police to comply with the safeguards under Section 35 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS).
The court allowed Kumar’s petition and quashed the FIR registered by Puttur police. It directed the Karnataka DGP and IGP to ensure that the guidelines were followed “in letter and spirit”.
(PTI News)
