The High Court dismissed the petition of accused Mahesh Gowda to quash his charge sheet and imposed a fine of ₹25,000.
Bengaluru – The Karnataka High Court has dismissed the petition of the accused who made alleged casteist remarks on Dr. B.R. Ambedkar and Home Minister Priyank Kharge via Facebook. The accused had sought quashing of the charge sheet filed against him. The court termed the petition as a “gross abuse of the judicial process” and also imposed a fine of ₹25,000 on the petitioner.
The order was delivered by a single bench of Justice Anant Ramanath Hegde on November 2. Petitioner Mahesha K.C. alias Mahesh Gowda is a resident of Kabbanahalli in Mandya taluk. He was represented by advocate Sanath Kumar K.M. The allegation is that Mahesh Gowda published a post on Facebook in which he made caste-related remarks about Dr. Ambedkar and Home Minister Priyank Kharge. According to the complaint, Mahesh also mentioned the minister’s caste and questioned his respect for Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, claiming that Ambedkar was born in that caste. Crime No. 131/2025 was registered at the South Police Station in Mysuru. Following an investigation, the police filed a charge sheet in the court of the VI Additional District and Special Judge in Mysuru, which is pending as Special Case No. 336/2025.
The accused is charged under sections 352, 238, and 241 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), 2023, and sections 3(1)(r), (s), and (u) of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989. The complaint was filed by Respondent No. 2, S. Vijayakumar, a composer associated with the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee and a resident of Bandipalya village in Mysuru taluk. The petitioner’s lawyer argued in court that the complaint was filed by a member of a political party based on material allegedly published on Facebook. He stated that the person named in the alleged post had not filed any complaint himself, and therefore, the complainant had no locus standi to file the complaint.
Additional Public Prosecutor M.V. Anoop Kumar, representing the state, argued that the Facebook post referred to the caste of Home Minister Priyank Kharge and the caste of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar. He stated that the police were fully justified in conducting an investigation and filing a charge sheet.
After reviewing the contents of the complaint, the court declared that the petition was a “blatant abuse of the judicial process.” The court clarified that there was not a single ground for quashing the proceedings. On the contrary, the contents of the charge sheet clearly indicated that a trial was necessary in the case.
Dismissing the petition, the High Court imposed a fine of ₹25,000 on the petitioner. This amount must be paid to the District Legal Services Authority (DLSA), Mysuru. The order also stated that if the fine is not deposited, the DLSA, Mysuru, will proceed to recover it from the petitioner in accordance with a civil court decree. Following the dismissal of the petition, the hearing of Special Case No. 336/2025 will now continue in the Special Court in Mysuru.
Geetha Sunil Pillai
Courtesy: Hindi News