Bengaluru: The Supreme Court has dealt a blow to the Karnataka government while giving major relief to BJP MP Tejasvi Surya by dismissing the state’s petition against the High Court’s order quashing the FIR registered against him for allegedly spreading false news on a farmer’s suicide in Haveri district.

A bench headed by Chief Justice B.R. Gavai took strong exception to the government’s attempt to pursue the matter further and made sharp remarks against politicising such issues through the courts. “Don’t politicise this. Take this fight to the people. Don’t compel us to say harsh words about this misuse,” the Chief Justice cautioned while hearing arguments from senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, who appeared for the Karnataka government.

The dispute dates back to November 2024 when Tejasvi Surya tweeted that a farmer, Rudrappa, had taken his own life after his land was allegedly taken over by the Waqf Board. The post triggered a political row but was deleted by Surya soon after the local police clarified that the farmer’s suicide had nothing to do with the Waqf Board, but was due to crop loss and debt.

Despite the clarification and deletion, the Haveri Cyber, Economic and Narcotics Crime Police booked Tejasvi Surya under Section 353(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita for spreading false news. The Karnataka High Court later quashed the FIR, but the state challenged this in the Supreme Court, insisting that Surya’s tweet had communal implications.

Tejasvi Surya welcomed the apex court’s ruling, accusing the Congress government of misusing state machinery to target political opponents. “This is a victory for truth and a reminder that the Congress can’t silence those who speak for Karnataka’s farmers,” Surya posted online after the verdict.

The Supreme Court’s stern warning to the state government to refrain from political vendetta through legal means has intensified the BJP’s attack on the Congress, accusing it of using the police and judiciary for partisan purposes.