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The complainant claims that a social media post that purportedly shared an altered photo of BJP leaders protesting Kar Sevak Srikanth Pujari's detention incited animosity across groups.
Congress party emblem, Karnataka High Court, and DK Shivakumar
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In a lawsuit alleging that Karnataka Chief Minister DK Shivakumar posted a distorted photo of a demonstration organized by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders, the Karnataka
High Court on Friday dismissed criminal charges brought against him [D K Shivakumar v. State of Karnataka].
Shivakumar's petition was granted by Justice M Nagaprasanna, who also dismissed the actions taken against him.
M. Nagaprasanna, Justice
Advocate HV Praveen Gowda, who represented Shivakumar, argued that the Indian Penal Code's Sections 153A, 505(2), 504, and 464 had only been invoked since the allegedly offensive message had been uploaded via Shivakumar's social media account.
He said that the person in charge of the social media team uploaded the picture. He claimed that the complaint claimed that such content could not have been posted without Shivakumar's consent and attempted to accuse him just because he was the head of the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee.
The case originated with a demonstration led by BJP leaders over the arrest of Srikanth Pujari, who had taken part in the 1992 Babri Masjid demolition agitation. BJP leaders carried signs during the protest that read, "I'm also a Kar Sevak, arrest me too."
The complaint claims that the Congress IT Cell changed the posters' language to give the impression that BJP officials were acknowledging their role in fraud and other irregularities. The altered photo was purportedly shared via Shivakumar's account after being posted on social media.
Yogendra Hodaghatta, the State Convener of the BJP Legal Cell, filed a private case before the Special Court for MPs and MLAs, claiming that the post was meant to incite animosity amongst communities and amounted to the use of a fraudulent document.
The Bengaluru special court had ordered the municipal police to investigate Shivakumar.
