HYDERABAD: Ordering the Banjara Hills police not to take any coercive steps against Nizamabad MP Dharmapuri Arvind, Justice Ujjal Bhuyan of the Telangana High Court on Friday directed the BJP leader to refrain from posting any offensive material on social media that may cause enmity and disturbances between different communities.
The court was hearing a petition filed by Arvind seeking quashing of an FIR registered against him by Banjara Hills police for morphing a cartoon of Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao and posting it on social media. Appearing for Arvind, senior counsel N. Ramchander Rao claimed that the complaint was baseless and vexatious and filed with mala fide intention to gain publicity.
The senior counsel said that the post was made not with an intention to disrespect any individual or community but was an expression of dissent against the government for its orders allowing bars and liquor stores to remain open till 1 a.m on New Year’s eve. After hearing the arguments, the court observed that the MP should exercise some respect against the person who is holding the highest post and posted the case to February 17.