"Don't Politicise It": Supreme Court While Dismissing Karantaka's SLP Challenging Quashing Of FIR Against Tejasvi Surya

The Supreme Court today dismissed the Petition filed by the State of Karnataka challenging the Karnataka High Court's order quashing the FIR filed against BJP MP Tejasvi Surya.

"Don't politicise the matter", the Bench of Chief Justice B. R. Gavai and Justice Vinod Chandran told the Counsel for the State in the brief hearing.

Earlier, the Karnataka High Court had quashed the FIR registered against Tejasvi Surya, who was accused of spreading fake news via his tweet about the death of a farmer following the claim by the Waqf Board upon his land. The High Court had held that the ingredients of Section 353(2) of the BNS were not satisfied in this case.

Chief Justice Gavai remarked, "What is this? Don't politicise the matter... Dismissed."

Background

Earlier, Surya had approached the High Court of Karnataka, calling in question the registration of an FIR against him under Section 353(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023

The genesis of this case goes back to September 2024, when the Revenue Department of the Government of Karnataka sought to unilaterally effect changes of farm lands claimed to be belonging to farmers, by inserting the name of the Karnataka Waqf Board, in the revenue records.

This action of the Government generated fear, and the farmers began protesting against the action of the State Government. In this regard, Surya, being a Member of the Parliament and also a Member of the Joint Parliamentary Committee on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024, had undertaken a tour throughout the State. The social media post by Tejasvi Surya was in that context.

Cause Title: State of Karnataka V Tejasvi Surya (Diary No. 26570-2025 II-E )

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