The Karnataka High Court, on Thursday, November 14, granted interim relief to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and Bengaluru South MP Tejasvi Surya, in a case related to his social media post concerning the suicide of a farmer in Haveri. The post alleged that the farmer took his life following the Waqf Board's takeover of his property.
A bench of Justice M Nagaprasanna granted an interim stay on the proceedings and further action against Tejasvi in this case after reviewing the initial arguments. The MP, in his petition, sought to quash the FIR, stating that the allegations were politically motivated and lacked merit. Senior Advocate Aruna Shyam, who appeared for Tejasvi, argued that the Karnataka Revenue Department had unilaterally amended land records, adding the Karnataka Waqf Board’s name as landowners in place of farmers across multiple districts.
The counsel argued that this sparked protests and anxiety among farmers, leading the Karnataka government to announce the reversal of these entries and withdraw related notices. He further added that Tejasvi, as a member of the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024, had recently visited Vijayapura with JPC Chairman Jagdambika Pal to meet farmers facing Waqf-related land issues.
During these visits, he reportedly learned about the news of a farmer, Rudrappa, who allegedly died by suicide in Haveri due to a Waqf Board land claim on his family’s property. He shared news on X, expressing concern over challenges faced by Karnataka’s farmers. However, the Superintendent of Police, Haveri, later clarified on social media that Rudrappa's suicide, reported in January 2022, was due to loan and crop loss issues, and not a Waqf land claim. After clarifying the situation, Tejasvi deleted the post and recommitted to ensuring accurate information and addressing Karnataka’s farmers’ concerns.
The FIR was filed by the Cybercrime, Economic Offences, Narcotics (CEN) police in Haveri district against Surya under section 353(2) (statements conducing to public mischief) of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita. The FIR stated that Surya's social media post, which cited a Kannada Duniya e-paper report, falsely claimed that the farmer's suicide was a result of the Waqf board taking over his land.