The Bench of Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice Aravind Kumar observed that Sinha’s arrest was unnecessary and there was no justification for custodial interrogation.
The Court set aside the Telangana High Court’s order refusing pre-arrest bail and allowed Sinha’s plea.
The case arose from a speech delivered by Rahul Gandhi on July 1, 2024, in Parliament, where he reportedly remarked that those “who call themselves Hindus are constantly engaged in violence, hatred and lies.” The following day, Sinha shared Gandhi’s image on X (formerly Twitter) with the caption: “Those who are Hindus are violent, Rahul Gandhi.”
The post triggered controversy and led to the registration of FIR No. 1619/2025 at the Cyber Crime Police Station, Hyderabad, under provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, including Sections 352, 353(1)(c), 353(2), and 336(4). The complaint was lodged by a Congress supporter, Venkat Naik, alleging that Sinha had distorted Gandhi’s words to promote communal tension.
During the hearing, Advocate Ashish K Dixit for Sinha contended that his post was “political commentary” protected under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution and that the case was politically motivated to “harass and silence” him for criticising a prominent opposition leader.
Granting him relief, the Apex court noted that the investigation could proceed without his detention, emphasizing that pre-trial arrests should not be made in cases where custodial interrogation serves no purpose.