Bengaluru, Mar 17 (UNI) The Karnataka High Court on Monday quashed the hate speech case registered against journalist and news anchor Rahul Shivshankar over his social media post regarding the state government's budgetary allocation for religious minorities.

Justice M Nagaprasanna allowed Shivshankar’s petition challenging the First Information Report (FIR) lodged against him, ruling that the allegations did not meet the legal criteria for the charges invoked.

"Criminal petition allowed. FIR stands quashed," the court declared while dictating the operative portion of the order.

The case was registered following a complaint by N Ambrish, a city municipal council member from Kolar, who alleged that Shivshankar’s social media post had promoted enmity among religious groups. The post in question claimed that funds meant for Hindu groups had been allocated to Waqf properties, Haj Bhavan in Mangaluru, and Christian places of worship.

The state argued that Shivshankar had a history of making unverified claims and spreading communal discord through his social media activity. However, his counsel contended that he was merely presenting budget-related facts and was being unfairly targeted due to his journalistic work, particularly his coverage of the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) scam.

While granting interim relief in September 2024, Justice Nagaprasanna had observed that prima facie, Shivshankar’s post did not meet the legal threshold under Section 153A (promoting enmity between groups) or Section 505 (statements conducive to public mischief) of the Indian Penal Code.

"The language deployed or sentences used, in the considered view of the court, would not meet the ingredients of Section 153A or 505 of IPC, as elucidated by the Apex Court in Javed Ahmad Hajam v State of Maharashtra," the court noted in its earlier order.

With Monday’s verdict, the case against Shivshankar stands nullified. A copy of the final judgment is awaited.

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