Madras High Court pulls up Tamil Nadu police over Facebook post on Lord Krishna, says ‘Hindu Gods cannot be depicted..’

The Madras High Court lashed out at the Tamil Nadu Police for mechanically closing a criminal case registered over a Facebook post, reported Bar and Bench on Friday.

The bench, headed by Justice K Murali Shankar, criticised the police action on the post which contained vulgar captions alongside an image of Lord Krishna stealing clothes from gopis.

According to Justice K Murali Shankar, the depiction of religious figures must be handled with due sensitivity. He added that the government must ensure that freedom of speech does not translate into hurting religious feelings.

“Depicting Hindu Gods in a disrespectful manner, intentionally hurting the sentiments of millions, cannot be justified. Such actions have the potential to spark enmity, religious outrage, social disorder, and undermine communal harmony. Given the deep-rooted respect for religious symbols and deities, disrespect can lead to social unrest and hurt a large section of society. Therefore, it is crucial to approach such depictions with sensitivity. The Government must ensure that freedom of expression does not translate into hurting religious feelings,” the Bar and Bench quoted the August 4 ruling as saying.

What is the case:

According to the report, the Facebook post in question contained two Tamil comments. The first comment, made by Sathish Kumar, stated that Krishna Jayanti was a celebration of a man who stole the clothes of bathing women.

Following this, P Paramasivan filed a criminal case and alleged that the post was uploaded with the intent to defame Hindu gods and damage the image of Hindu women.

Paramasivan even raised concerns that the post could potentially trigger law and order problems on religious grounds.

However, in February, the police filed a negative final report before the trial court, claiming it requested information about the Facebook user who uploaded the post from Meta, but unable to secure such user details.

The trial court accepted the police’s negative final report, which classified the case as UN.

Following this, the complainant approached the High Court with a revision plea. The Madras High Court then pulled up the police for not being diligent in pursuing the criminal case. They also ordered them to resume the investigation and file a final report in three months.