The Supreme Court on Monday, August 25, granted interim protection to psephologist Sanjay Kumar in two FIRs registered by the Election Commission of India over alleged misinformation about Maharashtra’s electoral rolls.
A bench of Chief Justice B R Gavai and Justice N V Anjaria directed that no coercive action be taken against Kumar while issuing notice to the state. The order came after submissions by senior advocate Vivek Tankha and lawyer Sumeer Sodhi, who argued that the FIRs were filed despite Kumar’s public apology.
Kumar, co-director of Lokniti at the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS), approached the apex court seeking quashing of the FIRs. He was booked under sections 175 (false statement in connection with an election), 353(1)(B) (statements conducing to public mischief), 212 (providing false information to a public servant), and 340 of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita.
One of the FIRs was lodged on August 20 by Ramtek Tehsildar Ramesh Kolpe, who accused Kumar of misleading the public through posts on social media platform X.
Following the controversy, Kumar deleted the posts and issued an apology, clarifying that the error occurred while comparing data from the 2024 Lok Sabha and Assembly elections.
“I sincerely apologize for the tweets regarding Maharashtra elections. The data was misread by our team. The tweet has since been removed. I had no intention of spreading misinformation,” Kumar stated on X.
The matter will be heard further by the Supreme Court in the coming weeks, with wider implications on social media accountability and election-related discourse.
👉 Click here to read the latest Gujarat news on TheLiveAhmedabad.com