Supreme Court dismisses State’s appeal against social media activist Shashidhar Goud

The Supreme Court dismissed the Telangana government’s appeal against a High Court order quashing cases filed against social media activist Nalla Balu for a retweet, upholding guidelines against indiscriminate police action over online posts.

Hyderabad: In a setback to the Congress government here, the Supreme Court dismissed the State’s appeal challenging the High Court order that quashed cases filed against social media activist Shashidhar Goud, popular as Nalla Balu.

The case relates to the arrest of Shashidhar Goud for retweeting content from the BRS party’s official social media handle. In September last year, the High Court found fault with the police, describing the arrest as illegal and overzealous.

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The High Court not only quashed the cases against Goud but also laid down clear guidelines to prevent indiscriminate registration of cases and detention of individuals for social media posts.

Challenging the High Court order, the State government had approached the Supreme Court and engaged senior advocate Siddharth Luthra to argue the case on behalf of the State.

After hearing arguments from both sides, the apex court rejected the Telangana government’s contentions and upheld the High Court order, former Digital Media Director Konatham Dileep said in a post on X.

“It is a slap on the face for the Revanth Reddy government for its attempt to silence the dissenting voice,” he said.