MADURAI: The state government must ensure that freedom of expression does not translate into hurting religious feelings, the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court observed and set aside the ‘mechanical’ closure of investigation in a case registered by Thoothukudi police in 2022 over a social media post which depicted Hindu god Krishna in a derogatory manner.
Justice K Murali Shankar, who made the observation recently, directed the police to conduct investigation in a diligent manner and complete it within three months. The direction was issued on a petition filed by P Paramasivan, challenging an order passed by Judicial Magistrate IV of Thoothukudi accepting the final report filed by police in March this year.
According to the petitioner, a social media user Sathish Kumar had posted a derogatory photograph and comment on Facebook about the Hindu god Krishna which not only hurt his religious sentiments but also posed a risk of causing law and order problem and enmity between two groups.
Paramasivan lodged a complaint, and police registered an FIR and sent a letter to the social media platform seeking details about the account and its owner. However, despite the fact that the account itself contained personal details and pictures of the account holder, police closed the case as ‘undetected’, citing the company’s refusal to reveal the information.
The magistrate also failed to consider the objections raised by him against the said final report, Paramasivan said and sought the court’s intervention. Justice Shankar observed that the prosecution has not explained why it did not verify the accuracy of the account holder’s personal details, which were available in the account.
“Depicting Hindu gods in a disrespectful manner, intentionally hurting the sentiments of millions, cannot be justified. Such actions have the potential to spark enmity, religious outrage, social disorder, and undermine communal harmony. The government must ensure that freedom of expression does not translate into hurting religious feelings,” the judge added.