Rajeev Chandrasekhar, the Union Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology, sought the Kerala High Court on Wednesday to have a hate speech case against him for his social media remarks about the recent explosions in Kalamassery dismissed. Judge CS Dias heard the case and gave the state authorities until December 14 to refrain from using coercion against Chandrasekhar.
Senior Advocate Mahesh Jethmalani made an appearance on behalf of Chandrasekhar, claiming that the accusations were unfounded and motivated by politics. The first information report (FIR), in his opinion, is the product of political rivals working together. In addition, he expressed worry over purported harassment and disparities in the notice. When the applications submitted by the Union Minister to nullify two FIRs registered against him came up for hearing, Justice C.S. Dias granted the temporary order.
The Ernakulam Central Police filed the First Information Reports (FIRs) against the Minister under Sections 153A of the IPC (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, and residence) and Section 120(o) of the Kerala Police Act (causing nuisance and violation of public order) after the Minister posted comments on social media about the Kochi blasts and a Hamas leader’s virtual address at an event held in the Malappuram district. The allegations submitted by Pramod Y.T., a sub-inspector, and Sarin, convener of the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee’s Digital Media Cell, led to the registration of the charges.
Blasts at a conference centre in Kalamassery, an Ernakulam suburb, on October 29 resulted in at least three fatalities and fifty-one injuries, some of which are said to be critical. The explosions occurred during a Jehovah’s Witness gathering. Dominic Martin turned himself in to the police a few hours after the explosions. He was the attacker.
Before any official confirmation from the government, several netizens had begun blaming various communities and groups on social media in the immediate wake of the explosions. The Kerala Police swiftly turned to their own social media accounts to issue a warning, threatening severe consequences for anyone attempting to incite enmity between communities on the platform. Chandrasekhar was publicly criticised by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan for what were allegedly intentional social media statements meant to sow dissension among the community. The sub-inspector of the Ernakulam cyber cell submitted a report, which resulted in Chandrasekhar’s booking by the Ernakulam Central Police Station on October 31.
According to the FIR filed against him, he committed crimes that were illegal under Kerala Police Act Section 120(o) and Indian Penal Code (IPC) Sections 153 and 153A. “Wantonly giving provocation with intent to cause riots” is punishable under Section 153 of the IPC, while “promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc., and doing acts prejudicial to the maintenance of harmony” is punishable under Section 153A.
The Kerala Police Act’s Section 120(o) specifies the punishment for disturbing the peace and violating it. The Facebook posts in question, according to the FIR, included additional offensive content in addition to mentioning the “Palestine terrorist group Hamas.” The same was further disseminated through text messages and news stories, all of which hampered the state of Kerala’s communal harmony by inciting hatred against a certain religious community, according to the FIR. Santhosh Mathew, Anil Sebastian Pulickel, Mathew Nevin Thomas, Kurian Antony Mathew, Abi Benny Areeckal, Shinto Mathew Abraham, and Joe S. Adhikaram are the counsel for Chandrasekhar.
