‘Casual’ Probe into Vulgar Facebook Post on Lord Krishna: Madras HC Slams TN Police
Court noted that the investigating officer had not verified even the basic publicly available details on the Facebook profile;
The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court earlier this week set aside a lower court’s acceptance of a “mechanically filed” final report that had closed as ‘undetected’ a case involving a Facebook post allegedly mocking Lord Krishna and hurting Hindu sentiments.
Justice K. Murali Shankar, while hearing a criminal revision petition filed by complainant P. Paramasivan, noted that the police failed to pursue a proper investigation and the magistrate erred in treating the case as closed despite the complainant raising objections.
In August 2022, when a Facebook post by one Sathish Kumar showed a digitally altered image of girls bathing nude, with Lord Krishna watching from a tree, a play on the Gopis’ tale, accompanied by two Tamil captions the court found offensive. Paramasivan, who was “deeply hurt” by the post, alleged it was aimed at insulting Hindu deities and women and creating communal discord.
An FIR was registered under Sections 298, 504, and 505(2) of the IPC and Section 67 of the IT Act. However, the probe stalled after Meta, the parent company of Facebook, declined to share user data without a Letter Rogatory. The police did not take further steps through legal or diplomatic channels and simply filed the case as “undetected".
The Judicial Magistrate in March 2025 accepted this report and closed the case, wrongly recording that the complainant had not objected.
The High Court pulled up the Magistrate for overlooking court records that showed the complainant’s counsel had filed objections and appeared before the court.
The High Court noted that the investigating officer had not verified even the basic publicly available details on the Facebook profile in question, which contained information such as the user’s photograph, educational background, work history, and residence. Despite the seriousness of the allegations, court said the police had handled the matter “casually,” filing a final report that appeared “mechanical” and halting the probe prematurely without exhausting all leads
Court also emphasized the sensitivity of religious depictions, observing that such posts, if not addressed, could spark unrest. “Depicting Hindu Gods in a disrespectful manner, intentionally hurting the sentiments of millions, cannot be justified,” it said, adding that the state's duty is to balance free speech with public order and religious harmony.
Setting aside the Magistrate’s order and the final report, the High Court directed the police to complete the investigation and file a proper final report within three months.
Case Title: P.Paramasivan vs. Inspector of Police, Cyber Crime, Thoothukudi
Order Date: August 4, 2025
Bench: Justice K. Murali Shankar