NEW DELHI, 21 JULY

The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed the State government's plea against a high court order quashing the criminal case against BJP MP Tejasvi Surya.

“What is this? Don’t politicise the matter. Fight your battles before the electorate,” a bench comprising Chief Justice BR Gavai and K Vinod Chandran told the State.

Surya was alleged to have disseminated fake news on a farmer’s suicide in the state’s Haveri district.

Surya on 7 November, 2024, had shared a post in which he cited a report from Kannada news portals claiming that a "farmer had died by suicide after discovering that his land had been taken over by the Waqf Board."

The post was subsequently deleted after it was declared fake.

The bench dismissed the appeal of the State government and cautioned against the politicisation of legal proceedings.

Surya on Monday welcomed the Supreme Court's order, saying "the judgment should serve as a lesson".

"The Karnataka government filed an FIR against me—at the behest of a minister—accusing me of spreading fake news. The High Court quashed it with a detailed order. But their addiction to vendetta politics made them approach the Supreme Court. Today, not only did the SC dismiss their plea, it imposed costs and cautioned them against politicising institutions," he claimed in a post on X.

Surya alleged that the Congress has long run a "calculated misinformation" campaign against him, even "misusing the police and judiciary to settle political scores."