Bombay High Court Quashes FIRs Against Congress Worker Sandeep Kudale For Social Media Post Against Chandrakant Patil

A division bench of the Bombay High Court comprising Justice Revati Mohite Dere and Justice PK Chavan today quashed 2 FIRs against Congress worker Sandeep Arjun Kudale and imposed a cost of Rs 25000 on the state which is to be recovered from the salary of the police officer who had registered the FIRs.

The division bench observed that law cannot be used as an instrument of oppression.

“Law cannot be used as a tool or as an instrument of oppression, by registering FIRs, to harrass people by preventing/intimidating them, from expressing their views/opinions/dissent, which the Constitution of India, guarantees to them. The right to express one’s views is a protected and cherished right in our democracy and cannot be taken away by imposition of Section 153A of the IPC and by arresting a person as done in the present case,” the court said.

Further, the court observed that Section 153A cannot be used to silence people from expressing their views. The court observed:

“Section 153A cannot be resorted to silence people from expressing their views/opinions/dissent, so long as Article 19(2) is not violated. Cases under Section 153A are on the rise and the onus is on the police/State to ensure that the said provision is not misused by anyone, much less, political parties.”

The high court was hearing a plea filed by the Congress Leader against 2 FIRs registered by the Pune police. The said FIRs were registered by the police on the complainant, a BJP member, wherein it was alleged that the petitioner was standing outside the house of Chandrakant Patil, Minister of Higher and Technical Education and Cabinet Minister, and had made a video while uploading it on social media.

It was alleged by the complainant that by uploading the said video, the petitioner had provoked the feelings/sentiments of the persons belonging to Dr. Ambedkar and Mahatma Phule’s community, and as such had created disharmony between the communities.

Advocate Subodh Desai and Advocate Lokesh Zade for the petitioner argued that the FIRs were politically motivated, lodged with the sole intent of harassing and browbeating the petitioner, who is a member of the Congress Party, from expressing his opinion.

Counsel submitted that the petitioner was in police custody for two days without any justification and he had been falsely and malafidely implicated, only because he questioned the statement of a sitting Cabinet Minister of the State. The counsel also submitted that it was clearly evident that the FIRs had been registered at the behest of persons affiliated with the ruling party in the State.

Advocate General, Birendra Saraf argued that the concerned Sections had been rightly invoked by the police and that the video uploaded by the petitioner was likely to promote enmity between different groups in the society and as such, to prevent the same, the police took prompt steps in registering the FIRs and apprehending the petitioner.

However, the division bench while quashing the FIR said that: “It is pertinent to note that the petitioner was arrested in C.R. No. 0291/2022 and was in custody for two days, despite prima facie, no offence, being disclosed against the petitioner. The police, before arresting, must first apply their mind, as to whether any offence is made out or not, as an arrest visits serious consequences on the person arrested. The offences alleged have serious connotations/ramification and the police have to be mindful of the same. Invocation of the said sections has serious repercussions not only on that person’s life, but also his family life, causes incalculable harm to one’s reputation and even career. It cannot and must not be lightly invoked”.

Case Title: Sandeep Arjun Kudale vs State of Maharashtra