SC stays FIRs against CSDS Professor Sanjay Kumar over erroneous Maharashtra Election tweet
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday (August 25) stayed the FIRs registered by the Maharashtra Police against Professor Sanjay Kumar, noted psephologist and Co-Director of the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS), over a mistaken tweet analyzing the 2024 Maharashtra Assembly Elections.
A bench comprising Chief Justice of India BR Gavai and Justice NV Anjaria passed the interim order while issuing notice on Kumar's writ petition seeking the quashing of the FIRs.
During the hearing, Kumar’s counsel highlighted his “30 years of conscientious service” and emphasized that the tweet was a genuine mistake for which the professor had promptly issued a public apology and deleted the post.
“You withdrew also,” CJI Gavai noted, to which the counsel replied, “I deleted, I apologized publicly, after that, an FIR!”
Despite observing that “normally we would not have entertained this,” the bench issued notice and granted a stay on the FIRs.
On August 17, Kumar had posted an analysis on X (formerly Twitter) about changes in voter numbers in certain constituencies. However, realizing the analysis was flawed, he posted a public apology on August 19 and clarified that the earlier post was an error.
Despite the retraction, FIRs were lodged in Nashik and Nagpur under various sections of the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, including Sections 175, 212, 340(1)(2), 353(1)(b), and 356.
Kumar’s petition, filed through AoR Sumeer Sodhi, contended that the FIRs are “an abuse of State power” and that the invoked criminal provisions were “demonstrably inapplicable.” The petition argued that a bona fide error cannot be equated with criminal intent, and that such action has a chilling effect on free speech.
“A tweet giving wrong information cannot form the basis of an FIR for offences such as forgery... The officers reporting to the Election Commission have chosen to lodge FIRs for a mere technical error that was instantly corrected,” the petition stated.
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23-year-old woman found dead at Delhi home; suicide suspected
New Delhi (PTI): A 23-year-old woman was found dead in her house in Delhi's Prem Nagar area, with police suspecting it to be a case of suicide, an official said on Tuesday.
The deceased, identified as Anjali Singh, was found motionless in her room on Monday by her sister and her neighbour.
Police said her father, Vinod Kumar Singh (51), told them that he and his wife were away at work at the time of the incident, while their son and the other daughter were also not at home at the time of the incident.
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According to the family, the room in which Anjali was found was locked from the inside. The door was later forcibly opened by a neighbour and her sister with the help of a crowbar.
Her body was found lying on the bed inside the room, police said.
Preliminary inquiry revealed that Anjali had allegedly hanged herself using a piece of cloth tied to the ceiling fan.
It is suspected that the noose eventually might have loosened or torn off, resulting in her being found lying on the bed.
Family members informed the police that Anjali was a final-year student of a librarian science course from Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU). About a week ago, her final-year examination results were declared, and she had failed, following which she had been under depression, they said.
The family has not raised any allegation of foul play, police said, adding that no suicide note or external injury marks were found on the body during the initial inspection.
Inquest proceedings have been initiated in the matter as per the law. The body has been sent for post-mortem examination to ascertain the exact cause of death, and further investigation is underway, police added.
