Mumbai: FIR Registered Against 12 Social Media Users For Circulating Defamatory Video Targeting CM Devendra Fadnavis

Mumbai: The State Cyber Police have registered a case against 12 social media users for posting an offensive video on social media, alleging that Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis does not believe in the Indian Constitution, democracy, or any constitutional institution and suggesting his goal is to establish a parallel state. The action was taken based on a complaint filed by a representative of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

According to the State Cyber Police, the accused users—India Bhavla Shinde (@Bs131B), Shuddhodhan Sahjrao (@Suddhodhan74629), Nagpur Congress Sevadal (@SevadalNGP), Saurabh Singh Chauhan (@Sbchauhan0103), Mukesh Lavhale (@Lavhale), Prasad Salvi, Varad Kanki, Amol Kamble, Syed Salim, THE SMART 230K, and Vishnu Bhotkar are accused of sharing an edited and incomplete video.

The complaint alleged that these social media users posted defamatory content on platforms like Twitter (X Handle), Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube with the intent to incite public harm and disturb Maharashtra’s law and order situation.

The FIR have registered under Sections 353(1)(B), 356(2), 192, 3(5) of the BNS Act with Section 67 of the Information Technology (IT) Act, 2000 against the social media users responsible for posting the objectionable video. Notices have been issued to all social media intermediaries to provide information on these accused handles.

The initial investigation by the State Cyber Police revealed that the video was deliberately taken out of context to falsely portray the Chief Minister as opposing constitutional values and intending to establish a parallel governance system. The video appears to be designed to provoke social unrest, hurt the sentiments of specific groups, and potentially disrupt Maharashtra's law and order.