TS High Court quashes FIR against law graduate for tweeting that law, order became joke

HYDERABAD: Justice T Madhavi Devi of the Telangana High Court quashed an FIR filed against a law graduate Vijay Gopal who commented on social media platform X (formerly Twitter) last year that law and order in the State had become a joke.

The 35-year-old law student took to X after the public assembly outside examination centres was prohibited in the State. “Law & order has become a joke in Telangana... If you cannot do your job without being so insecure (sic) all the time, you should find another job. This is nothing but abuse of office. it is just (an) exam, not some war. Prohibitory orders, silly!” was his comment that attracted the ire of the police.

The police booked cases against him under sections covering offenses of intent to provoke a breach of peace or promote enmity between groups. Hyderabad police registered an FIR against him under Section 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace) and 505 (2) (statements creating or promoting enmity, hatred, or ill-will between classes) of the Indian Penal Code.

Vijay Gopal then moved high court by filing a quash petition against the FIR contending that his comments do not constitute any criminal offence. As a first case, the Law graduate presented arguments in the court on his own and did not hire the services of any other high court lawyer.

Delivering her verdict Justice T Madhavi Devi observed that the remarks made by the accused might not be in good taste but they were not too serious to create a breach of public peace.

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The court said that the comment was more of a ‘general comment’ and it would not in any way promote feelings of enmity, hatred, or ill-will between different groups or castes or communities against the prohibitory order passed by the Commissioner of Police, Hyderabad.

The Court also mentioned the absence of intent to cause insult which might provoke a section of people or break public peace. The Court said that the law graduate had committed no offense of that kind by his comment on the prohibitory orders passed by the police commissioner.

The single judge while quashing the FIR filed by the Begum Bazar Police Station, Hyderabad said that the court found no two groups as required to attract the said provisions and there appears to be no intention to create or promote a feeling of enmity, hatred, or ill-will between different groups or of disturbing the public peace.