The Madras High Court has come down strongly on the Tamil Nadu Police for what it called a “casual” and “mechanical” approach in closing a criminal case over a Facebook post alleged to have insulted Lord Krishna. The Court has directed the police to reopen the investigation and submit a final report within three months.
Justice K. Murali Shankar was hearing a revision petition filed by P. Paramasivan, who had challenged the closure of the case earlier this year. The dispute arose after a Facebook post featured an image of Lord Krishna stealing clothes from gopis (female devotees) along with captions that the complainant described as vulgar and offensive. One such remark suggested that Krishna Jayanti celebrates “a man who stole women’s clothes while they bathed.”
The post was allegedly made by a user named Sathish Kumar. According to Paramasivan, the intent was to defame Hindu deities, demean Hindu women, and provoke communal disharmony. Though a case was registered, police in February 2025 filed a “negative final report,” classifying the matter as “undetected.” They claimed they could not identify the user because Facebook’s parent company, Meta, required a formal request under the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT) or a letter rogatory to share account details.
In March, the trial court accepted this report and closed the case, while giving Paramasivan the option to file a private complaint. Unhappy with this outcome, he moved the High Court, arguing that the police had made no serious effort to trace the accused.
The High Court agreed, noting that investigators had done little beyond sending a request to Facebook, despite the account containing personal details. “Despite the gravity of the allegations, the respondent police dealt with the case in a perfunctory manner and prematurely shut it down,” the Court observed.
Justice Shankar emphasised that while freedom of speech is protected, it does not grant the right to insult religious sentiments. “Depicting Hindu Gods in a disrespectful way, with the deliberate intent to offend millions, cannot be justified. Such actions risk creating enmity, triggering religious outrage, and disturbing communal harmony,” the order said.
The Court also remarked that while the story of Krishna hiding the gopis’ clothes is traditionally understood as symbolic, the Facebook post had crossed “acceptable limits” of expression. The police have now been instructed to carry out the investigation thoroughly and report back within three months.
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