SC grants interim protection from arrest to social media influencer in Rahul Gandhi’s LS speech case

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court granted interim protection from arrest to social media influencer and political commentator Raushan Sinha in connection with a case related to a post referencing an alleged controversial speech by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.

The relief was extended by a division bench of Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice Augustine George Masih during the hearing held on July 17, 2025. The Special Leave Petition (SLP) in the case was filed under Article 136 of the Constitution, challenging the judgment of the Telangana High Court dated April 3, 2025.

Earlier, the Telangana High Court had refused to grant anticipatory bail to the petitioner. While directing him to appear before the Investigating Officer, the court did not offer any protection from arrest. Apprehensive of being arrested, Sinha did not comply with that order.

The case originated from a statement allegedly made by Rahul Gandhi in the Lok Sabha on July 1, 2024, where he was heard saying, “Those who call themselves Hindus are 24 hours engaged in violence, hatred, and lies”. The comment triggered sharp criticism and widespread media coverage.

Subsequently, Raushan Sinha posted an image of Rahul Gandhi on his X (formerly Twitter) account with the caption: “Those who are Hindus are violent – Rahul Gandhi”. This post led to FIR being registered on July 2, 2024, at Cyber Crimes Police Station, Hyderabad, under Sections 352, 353(2), 353(1)(c), and 336(4) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023.

The complaint was lodged by Venkat Naik, a supporter of the Congress party, who accused Sinha of spreading communal hatred for political motives and falsely attributing statements to the Congress leader.

The petitioner, Sinha, through Advocate Ashish Dixit, argued that the FIR was a result of a political vendetta orchestrated by the ruling party in Telangana. He contended that his post merely echoed what was perceived by the general public and media from the parliamentary speech and did not amount to any criminal offence.

Sinha further submitted that he had received numerous threats on social media following his post and that the Telangana Police, in coordination with local police, had visited his residence to allegedly harass and intimidate him. In support of his claims, he pointed to a public post made by Sama Ram Mohan Reddy, State Congress social media in-charge, where the petitioner was openly accused of spreading “fake news” and threatened with imminent police action.

The petitioner’s legal team argued that the case did not meet the legal ingredients of the alleged offences under BNS. They emphasized that the Telangana High Court had failed to consider the clear political overtones of the case and had ignored the petitioner’s legitimate apprehension of arrest and harassment. They also highlighted that Sinha had no prior criminal record, posed no flight risk, and that custodial interrogation was unwarranted in this case.

After hearing the submissions, the Supreme Court directed that the petitioner shall appear before the Investigating Officer at 12 pm on July 25, 2025. More significantly, the Court ruled that Raushan Sinha shall not be arrested in connection with the FIR without obtaining prior leave of the Court, thereby granting interim protection from arrest. The matter has been posted for further hearing after two weeks. (ANI)