FIR Against Facebook Pages Over Posts Targeting Karnataka CM Shivakumar

The Sadashivanagar police in Bengaluru have registered a First Information Report (FIR) against the administrators of two Facebook pages — ‘Kumaraswamy for CM’ and ‘Janata Dal (Secular)’ — for allegedly circulating content that is false, defamatory, and provocative against Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar.

The FIR was filed on Saturday based on a complaint by Deepu C.R., a lawyer from Sadashivanagar. The complaint states that on Wednesday, a video was posted on the ‘Janata Dal (Secular)’ page with the caption “Old habit begins again; an innate nature will not go away even if burned.” The complainant alleged that the video contained false statements portraying Mr. Shivakumar as a habitual deceiver and falsely attributed remarks to him.

According to the complaint, the content was deliberately created to mislead the public, incite hatred against the Congress party, and damage the Chief Minister’s reputation. It also claimed that the posts aimed to spread misinformation, provoke sections of society, and potentially disturb public peace and order. Given Mr. Shivakumar’s position, the complainant argued such content could influence public sentiment and lead to law-and-order issues.

Based on the complaint, the police have invoked Section 192 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, which deals with wanton provocation with intent to cause a riot, or related provocative acts even if a riot does not occur. The investigation is ongoing, and no arrests have been reported at this stage.

This development highlights the legal boundaries of social media speech in India, where public figures are protected under laws against defamation and incitement. The case will be examined for evidence of malicious intent and potential impact on public order.