Karnataka HC quashes FIR against BJP MP Tejasvi Surya over farmer suicide post
Bengaluru (PTI): The Karnataka High Court has set aside an FIR filed against BJP Yuva Morcha president and Bengaluru South MP Tejasvi Surya.
The FIR, registered by the Haveri police under 353(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), was based on a social media post Surya made concerning a farmer's suicide, which he linked to alleged Waqf Board land claims.
The petition, filed by Surya, argued that the FIR was baseless and politically motivated.
Following detailed hearings, Justice M Nagaprasanna's bench quashed the case after earlier granting an interim stay on proceedings.
Senior advocate Aruna Shyam, representing Surya, informed the court that the MP's post on the social media platform 'X' (formerly Twitter) was made after the deceased farmer's father highlighted grievances related to land disputes involving the Karnataka Waqf Board.
Surya's post alleged that the suicide was connected to the board's land claims. However, Haveri Superintendent of Police Anshu Kumar later clarified that the farmer, Rudrappa, who died by suicide in January 2022, had done so due to crop losses and loans, not due to Waqf-related issues.
Following this clarification, Surya deleted the post.
Shyam also pointed to concerns over amendments made to land records by the Karnataka Revenue Department, which allegedly replaced farmers' ownership details with the Waqf Board's name across various districts. These changes sparked anxiety among farmers, leading to protests and the state government's subsequent withdrawal of the amendments, he explained.
The counsel noted that Surya, as a member of the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024, had visited farmers in Vijayapura alongside JPC Chairman Jagdambika Pal.
The visit brought attention to issues faced by farmers in Karnataka due to Waqf-related land claims, which Surya highlighted in his now-deleted post, Surya's advocate said.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Delhi HC asks Jaideep Sengar to surrender in Unnao custodial death case
New Delhi (PTI): The Delhi High Court on Friday asked Jaideep Sengar, brother of Unnao rape case convict Kuldeep Sengar, to surrender before jail authorities in connection with his conviction in the custodial death case of the survivor's father.
A bench of Justices Navin Chawla and Ravinder Dudeja was hearing a plea by the convict for further extension of interim bail upon suspension of the 10-year sentence.
It observed that the interim bail granted to Jaideep Sengar in July 2024 was last extended in April 2025 and since then, in spite of five dates, no order of any further extension or suspension of his sentence has been passed by the court.
As the senior counsel for Jaideep Sengar urged the bench to extend the period of his release on account of his health, the bench said, "You surrender and then we will see."
"Although there is no extension of interim suspension of sentence granted, we find he has still not surrendered. Before we proceed to consider his application for further extension of suspension of sentence, we require the appellant to first surrender," the bench ordered.
The senior counsel for Jaideep Sengar assured the court that he would surrender by Saturday.
The court listed the matter for hearing next week.
Jaideep Sengar, 50, sought the bail extension on the grounds that he is suffering from oral cancer.
The Central Bureau of Investigation's (CBI) counsel had earlier said it was not a fit case for extension of interim bail, and the prescription given by Jaideep Sengar in support of his plea was fabricated.
In his application, Jaideep Sengar said he was suffering from stage IV oral cancer, a life-threatening condition, and had developed clinical signs of recurrence.
The condition, the plea said, required continuous and specialised medical care.
The plea also informed that Jaideep Sengar has spent about four years in custody.
The high court had granted interim bail to Jaideep Sengar on July 3, 2024, for two months on medical grounds.
Kuldeep Sengar was convicted and sentenced to imprisonment for the remainder of his life on December 20, 2019, for raping the minor in 2017.
On March 13, 2020, Kuldeep Sengar, along with Jaideep Sengar, was sentenced to 10 years' rigorous imprisonment by the trial court, which also imposed a fine of Rs 10 lakh, in the custodial death case of the rape survivor's father.
The survivor's father was arrested, allegedly at the behest of the accused, under the Arms Act and died in custody on April 9, 2018, owing to police brutality.
The trial court said no leniency could be shown for killing a family's sole breadwinner.
