The Telangana High Court has ruled that automatic or mechanical arrests are impermissible, underscoring that the principle of proportionality must guide the exercise of criminal process.
Justice Tukaramji, while quashing three FIRs filed against BRS social media activist Nalla Balu @ Durgam Shashidhar Goud, directed the state police on Wednesday to strictly follow the arrest guidelines laid down in earlier judicial pronouncements.
The Telangana police had registered three cases against Goud in different police stations, alleging that he posted objectionable messages on social media critical of Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy and the Congress party. One of the FIRs accused him of attempting to provoke public unrest, defame the Chief Minister, and disturb public tranquility through his posts.
In his order, Justice Tukaramji held that the mere publication of offensive or critical content, without establishing an intention to provoke prohibited consequences, is insufficient to justify criminal prosecution.
“Acts that amount to intentional insult likely to provoke breach of peace, online mischief calculated to promote enmity or violence, and defamatory imputations, if duly established, would justify continuation of prosecution. Conversely, where the statutory ingredients of the offence are absent, mere political criticism, however harsh, cannot attract criminal sanction,” the order said.
The petitioner’s counsel argued that the impugned posts were purely political opinions expressed on social media and constituted an exercise of the petitioner’s fundamental right to free speech.
