During the proceedings, Shivakumar’s lawyer argued that the post was made by a member of the party’s social media team. Advocate HV Praveen Gowda asserted that the case aimed to hold him accountable merely because the post was featured on his social media account and he was at the time leading the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee.
The issue arose from a BJP protest that occurred after the arrest of Srikanth Pujari, who was involved in the movement related to the 1992 Babri Masjid demolition. At the protest, BJP leaders displayed placards with messages supporting Pujari. One of the placards read, “I’m also a Kar Sevak, arrest me too.”
As per the complaint, the Congress IT Cell allegedly altered the original text on the placards to suggest that BJP leaders were confessing to involvement in scams and other irregularities.
The modified image was purportedly shared online and later propagated through Shivakumar’s social media account.
The complaint was lodged by Yogendra Hodaghatta, the state convener of the BJP legal cell, before a special court assigned to handle cases involving MPs and MLAs. The complainant claimed that the post involved the use of a forged document and was intended to incite discord between communities.
At the time, the Bengaluru police had initiated a case against Shivakumar, who was serving as the Karnataka deputy chief minister and the Congress state president. The case was recorded at the High Grounds police station under Sections 153A, 504, 506, and 464 of the Indian Penal Code, addressing issues such as promoting enmity, intentional insult, criminal intimidation, and the creation of fraudulent documents.
Following the complaint, the special court in Bengaluru had previously instructed the city police to look into the issue.
