Karnataka HC slams Whitefield police for “illegal arrest” of activist over social media post on Kunal Kamra’s show cancellation

Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], August 29 (ANI): The Karnataka High Court has raised serious concerns over the alleged illegal arrest of an activist by the Whitefield Police in a case linked to a Facebook post celebrating the cancellation of comedian Kunal Kamra's show.
Hearing a petition in Mohan Gowda vs State of Karnataka and another on August 28, Justice M Nagaprasanna observed that "Whitefield Police Station appears to have been violating the law time and again."
According to the oral order, the crux of the case lies in a representation made by an organisation called Hindu Rashtra Samanvaya Samithi to the Whitefield Police Station. The representation stated that Kunal Kamra was planning to hold his comedy show at Uru, Whitefield. On the representation of the petitioner, the show got cancelled.
The petitioner then made a Facebook post stating that the show is cancelled and it is a "victory for Hindu unity." This post became the fulcrum of the allegation, 'not on a complaint by anybody but on a suo motu case registered by the Whitefield Police Station', advocate appearing for the petitioner submitted before the court.
The Court noted, "The police constable of the Whitefield Police Station gets concerned about the imaginary disharmony overnight and alleges such disharmony to be because of the post of the petitioner calling it a victory for Hindu unity."
The petitioner was in Udupi at 2 am, when a police constable attached to Whitefield Police Station is said to have travelled to Udupi, taken the petitioner into custody, brought him to Whitefield Police Station and made him sit in the station for offences under Sections 273 and 353 of the BNS.
The notice under Section 35(3) of the BNSS was handed over to the petitioner only a short distance away from the Whitefield Police Station, where, after securing him and taking him into custody.
The Court further flagged that a notice under Section 35(3) of the BNSS issued on August 5 and August 6 indicated that the petitioner should appear before the police in the next three days, but he was already in police custody.
"A notice indicating the later date of appearance appears to have been used to take the petitioner into custody 3 days prior to the fixed date itself. This has been the modus operandi of the policeman who mans the Whitefield Police Station," Justice Nagaprasanna observed.
The Court has sought explanation from the Deputy Commissioner of Police and Assistant Commissioner of Police concerned over the repeated violations. (ANI)