Karnataka High Court stays FIR against Tejasvi Surya over tweet linking farmer's suicide to Wakf Board

The Karnataka High Court Thursday issued an interim stay on the investigation against BJP MP Tejasvi Surya in an alleged case of spreading fake news regarding the suicide of a farmer in Haveri district in Karnataka.

Justice M Nagaprasanna passed the interim order on a petition filed by Surya seeking quashing of the FIR registered against him by the Haveri police following his post on social media platform X.

"The Petitioner is a parliamentarian. The allegation is under section 353(2) of the BNS that was 505(2) of the IPC, the earlier regime. The allegation is in terms of a suo motu complaint by the police inspector. His counsel contends the tweet was deleted and takes us through an interview given to the media by the deceased’s father after the tweet was deleted. His response would somehow, vindicate the petitioner’s position although the tweet has been deleted. All this prima facie  would not become an offence under section 505 (2) of IPC as is held by Apex court,” the High Court said while staying the FIR and further proceedings against Surya until December 4, the next date of hearing.

Senior Counsel Aruna Shyam, who appeared for Surya, read out Surya’s post and said that Surya had made the post based on a “news report.”

In the post, Surya had said,

“A farmer in Haveri commits suicide after finding his land taken over by Waqf! In their haste to appease minorities, CM Siddaramaiah and Minister B. Z. Zameer Ahmed Khan have unleashed catastrophic effects in Karnataka that are becoming impossible to contain with every passing day”. 

Shyam further said that after the police clarified that the man had committed suicide two years ago as he was burdened with loans and debts, Surya had deleted the tweet.

However, the State government opposed Surya’s plea asking the Court to consider if such post was not “promoting enmity between two groups” and having a bad effect on the society prima facie?

However, Justice Nagaprasanna asked whether the State was doing the right thing by registering FIR.

“Is what is happening also correct? Just yesterday, I said that every action has an equal and opposite reaction,” Justice Nagaprasanna said.