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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Lebanon PM accuses Israel of ‘war crime’ after rescue workers killed in strikes
Beirut: Lebanon’s Prime Minister Nawaf Salam on Tuesday accused Israel of committing a “war crime” after five people, including three civil defence personnel, were killed in twin air strikes in southern Lebanon.
According to Lebanon’s Ministry of Health, the strikes targeted a building in the town of Majdal Zoun, where rescue workers had arrived following an initial attack. A second strike hit the same location, killing those involved in relief operations.
Salam said targeting emergency responders carrying out humanitarian duties amounted to a serious violation of international humanitarian law. He added that the government would raise the matter at international forums and seek action to halt such incidents.
A spokesperson for the Lebanese Civil Defence was quoted by AL Jazeera that the rescuers were trapped under debris after the second strike and later confirmed dead.
The Lebanese army said two of its personnel were also injured in the attack, which reportedly struck a military patrol escorting the rescue team along with civilian equipment.
Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun also condemned the incident, stating that it was part of a pattern of attacks affecting relief workers and civilians.
Despite a US-mediated ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon, cross-border hostilities have continued, with frequent air strikes reported in southern and eastern parts of the country.
Lebanese authorities said at least eight people were killed in separate incidents on Tuesday, while the overall toll from Israeli strikes since early March has crossed 2,500, with thousands injured.
