Karnataka High Court shows leniency to student over Puneeth Rajkumar post

Justice Suraj Govindaraj showed “leniency” and took into account the future of the student if the criminal proceedings are continued against him. He, however, warned the petitioner against indulging in similar activities in the future and also directed his counsel to advise him accordingly.

Further, the court said, “It is not only the statement made which is to be considered, but also the timing and the context in which the statement is made is required to be taken into consideration. It is rather sad that such a post had been put up immediately after the death of a well-respected actor.”

The order added, “However, taking into consideration that the petitioner was not a resident of India and had recently come to India and is now pursuing his Bachelor of Economics in a good university. The continuation of proceedings would adversely affect his future prospects. This court is of the considered view that leniency would have to be shown to the petitioner.”

On November 1, 2021, the Bengaluru police booked him for offences punishable under the Information Technology Act.

The Bengaluru police had banned the sale of alcohol for a couple of days in the wake of the actor’s death as a precautionary measure and to avoid untoward incidents in the city.

What the student argued

The counsel for the petitioner seeking to quash the offence argued that, at most, the social media post was in bad taste, but there was no obscene or sexually explicit material in it to constitute an offence under Section 67 of the Act. Further, the petitioner was born and brought up in London and was unaware of the consequences of his social media post, the counsel argued. It was also claimed that the student is pursuing education in a private University and the criminal case is adversely affecting his future and thus the proceedings be quashed.

‘The post raised concerns among public’

The bench, on going through the social media post orally, said, “Because you have access to social media, you will put up such posts. Is this the kind of post you can put up after his (the actor’s) death?”

In its order, the bench said, “The post was put up on the death of a well-respected film actor, raised concerns among the general public and affected peace and harmony, and in the said background the offence was lodged.”