On August 17, Kumar, in a post on X, claimed that there are increases and decreases in the number of voters in specific constituencies. However, he subsequently apologised by making another tweet admitting that his earlier post was made on an erroneous analysis
On Monday, the top court issued notice on Kumar's plea and stayed the FIRs filed against him. Representational Pic
The Supreme Court on Monday stayed FIRs filed against psephologist Sanjay Kumar in connection with incorrect claims he made regarding Maharashtra’s election data.
A bench headed by Chief Justice of India BR Gavai and Justice NV Anjaria granted the stay after Kumar’s counsel highlighted that he is a respected professional with 30 years of experience, who publicly apologised and removed the erroneous content. The court also issued notice to the State of Maharashtra, seeking their response to Kumar’s plea, according to news agency ANI.
On August 17, Kumar, in a post on X, claimed that there are increases and decreases in the number of voters in specific constituencies. However, he subsequently apologised by making another tweet admitting that his earlier post was made on an erroneous analysis.
Following the controversy, the Nagpur and Nashik Police registered First Information Reports (FIR) against Kumar.
As per police officials in Nagpur, the FIR was filed under multiple sections of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita, including sections 175, 353(1)(b), 212, and 340(1)(2), indicating charges related to false information and potential election-related violations. The Nashik Police have also filed a case against Sanjay Kumar, as per the ANI.
"Sanjay Kumar from CSDS has posted misleading information about voters, and an FIR is registered against him. It is requested of all citizens to verify the info only from the ECl website," District Election Officer Nashik posted on X.
On Tuesday, Kumar issued a public apology on X, acknowledging the error in his original post. "I sincerely apologise for the tweets posted regarding the Maharashtra elections. An error occurred while comparing the data of 2024 LS and 2024 AS," as per the agency ANI.
Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR) on Wednesday issued a showcase notice to the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS) for allegedly manipulating data related to the Maharashtra elections.
Kumar moved the top court seeking protection from the FIR lodged against him.
On Monday, the top court issued notice on Kumar's plea and stayed the FIRs filed against him.
SC refuses to hear plea over 'unverified' public statements on Kerala nurse
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear a plea seeking a gag order on “unverified public statements” regarding the case of Indian nurse Nimisha Priya, who faces the death penalty in Yemen for murder.
A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta told petitioner K A Paul that Attorney General R Venkataramani had already assured the court that only the government would make statements on the matter.
“What do you want? That nobody should say anything to the media? The Attorney General has said the government will ensure no briefings. What else do you want?” the bench remarked, before dismissing the plea as withdrawn.
Venkataramani called it a “very sensitive matter” and assured that no media briefings would take place until the issue was resolved.
(With ANI inputs)
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