The Karnataka High Court (HC) on Friday came down heavily on Bengaluru’s Whitefield Police over the manner in which they detained a man after the latter celebrated the cancellation of comedian Kunal Kamra’s proposed show in the city. 

A bench headed by Justice M Nagaprasanna was hearing a petition on Friday filed by one Mohan Gowda, linked to the Hindi Rashtra Samanvaya Samithi, challenging the registration of a police case against him under sections pertaining to the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). 

The controversy unfolded after a proposed comedy show helmed by Kunal Kamra in the Whitefield area of the city drew opposition. Gowda had approached the Whitefield Police with a representation against the programme. 

Subsequently, the show was cancelled, as Kamra himself announced the decision. Later, Gowda shared a post on social media describing the cancellation as a ‘victory for Hindu unity.’

Cops register suo motu case

After Gowda uploaded the post, the Whitefield Police initiated suo motu proceedings against him, alleging that his remarks had the potential to incite unrest in society. 

Appearing on behalf of Gowda, advocate Girish Bharadwaj told the  HC that police officials picked up his client from Udupi at around 2 am, treating him as though he had committed a grave crime. 

As per Bharadwaj’s submission, a police officer travelled from Bengaluru to Udupi, took Gowda into custody and brought him to the Whitefield Police Station. 

Subsequently, the police served him a notice under Section 35(3) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), requiring him to appear before the cops within three days. 

HC raises questions on use of BNSS notice

The HC questioned the manner in which the cops used the notice, noting that Gowda had apparently already been taken into custody even though the notice required him to appear before the police at a later date. 

Justice Nagaprasanna observed that the notice appeared to have been used to take Gowda into custody three days before the date fixed for his appearance. Further, the court noted that the notice was allegedly handed over to Gowda at a location some distance from the Whitefield Police Station, after he had already been secured and had been taken into custody. 

The judge asserted that the Whitefield Police’ appears to have been violating the law time and again,’ adding that the court had repeatedly stumbled across alleged violation by officials from the police station. 

The judge then termed the conduct the ‘modus operandi’ of the policemen posted at the Whitefield Police Station. 

Senior cops asked to address alleged violations

Taking note of the allegations, the HC directed the senior police officials, including the Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) and the Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) to address the alleged violations.