Karnataka High Court orders police to curb FIRs over social media criticism

In an order dated October 16, Justice M Nagaprasanna of the Karnataka High Court set out rules to prevent the mechanical registration of FIRs based solely on social-media content. The court highlighted that criticism and protest are protected under Article 19(1)(a) and should be judged by reasonable, strong-minded people, not by those who view every dissent as a threat. Police are now mandated to examine whether a complaint, on its face, discloses the essential ingredients of an offence before filing a FIR and to check for existing cases on the same incident.

The guidelines also require a preliminary inquiry under Section 173(3) of the BNSS where legally permissible and a careful review of intent under provisions like Section 353(2) that penalise false information intended to promote enmity. These directives were issued while the court dismissed a criminal case against Sandeep Kumar, who had reposted a report about six men threatening a woman with a knife. The Karnataka director general and inspector general of police must circulate the guidelines and ensure they are followed.