Telangana High Court Quashes FIR Over ‘Fake News’, Says Mere Forwarding of Posts Not an Offence

The Telangana High Court recently quashed an FIR against two individuals accused of circulating "fake news" regarding a paper leak case.

The court held that the mere forwarding of social media content does not attract offences under Section 353 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita unless there is a specific intent to incite public mischief or communal hatred.

The Court observed that even if the petitioners had shared the posts, the statutory requirements for "statements conducing to public mischief" were not satisfied.

Noting that registering multiple FIRs for the same incident constitutes an abuse of the legal process.

[Konatham Dhilip Kumar v. State of Telangana]