Karnataka DGP Tells Police Not To File Social Media Cases Blindly

Bengaluru: In the wake of Karnataka police invoking criminal proceedings against social media posts and the account holders, the Karnataka DG & IGP Dr M A Saleem has asked the police to restrain from registering cases mechanically, without verifying the merit of the cases.

Besides, he has also directed the police to subject the complaints regarding hate political speeches to legal scrutiny before registering the case and has asked them to adhere by various court orders regarding the hate speeches and social media posts.

The DG&IGP's circular assumes significance at a time when the Karnataka Legislature has passed the `Hate Speech' bill and is awaiting Governor's consent for it. The Governor has forwarded it to the President of India and awaits a nod from the Rashtrapati Bhavan.

In a circular, Dr Saleem has noted that the police were mechanically registering criminal cases against certain social media posts, without following the guidelines laid by the Supreme Court in Imran Pratapgadi v/s State of Gujarat. Besides, the Supreme Court has upheld the guidelines framed by the government of Telangana with regard to registering cases against social media posts, which has to be followed.

Whenever a complaint is filed regarding either social media post or a political statement, the police have been asked to verify the `locus standi' of the complainant and check if the complainant is indeed aggrieved by the post or the speech. Complaints from unrelated persons should not be entertained. While preliminary inquiry in cognizable offence cases are mandatory, no cases regarding allegations of alleging promotion of enmity, intentional insult, public mischief, threat to public order or sedation should be registered, unless the police have sufficient prima facie proof to prove that in the court, the circular noted.

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Directing the police to be cautious while registering cases against harsh, offensive and critical political speeches, the circular has directed the police to seek prior legal scrutiny in such sensitive cases. The circular also directs the police to consider defamation cases as non-cognizable and ask the complainant to approach the judiciary directly. While making arrests with regard to the above cases, the police should follow all the guidelines laid down in Arnesh Kumar v/s State of Bihar case and the police should close the cases where the complaints are found to be frivolous, vexatious or politically motivated, the circular added.