NEW DELHI, Aug 25: The Supreme Court on Monday stayed criminal proceedings initiated against psephologist and the co-director of Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS) Sanjay Kumar for a social media post concerning an erroneous analysis of the 2024 Maharashtra Assembly election.
A Bench headed by Chief Justice of India B.R. Gavai issued notice to the State of Maharashtra on a plea by Mr Kumar to quash the criminal proceedings. During the hearing, the Chief Justice pointed out that Mr Kumar had retracted the post. “He deleted and apologised. This person has impeccable integrity. He is highly respected. It was a mistake,” Mr Kumar’s counsel said.
The Maharashtra Police had registered two FIRs against the psephologist, one in Nashik and another in Nagpur under various offences of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
Mr Kumar had posted about the fluctuations in voter numbers in specific constituencies. However, he had deleted the post on realising that the analysis was wrong. Noting that the FIRs were a sheer abuse of power by the State, he argued that a social media post giving wrong information cannot form the basis of an FIR for offences such as forgery. He contended that there was no mala fide intent behind the post, and it was an inadvertent and technical error, which was later corrected.
“Such actions violate the fundamental principles of fairness and natural justice and serve to create a chilling effect on the exercise of free speech,” Mr Kumar had said.
Earlier, after the Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR) issued a show cause notice to the CSDS for “deliberately scandalising and maligning the reputation and image of Election Commission of India (ECI),” senior officials at CSDS had said they had received the notice, were “studying it in detail” and had been given a week’s time to reply.
Up to 90% of CSDS staff salaries and 50% of its administrative costs are covered by ICSSR, as part of its Grant-in-Aid scheme, according to Education Ministry sources. Between 2020-21 and the first quarter of 2023-24, CSDS was allocated ₹13.92 crore, the Ministry told the Lok Sabha in 2023. The show cause notice asked CSDS to explain “why the Grant-in-Aid, which is discretionary in nature, should not be cancelled and withdrawn,” and CSDS removed from the purview of the ICSSR’s Grant-in-Aid scheme.
The show cause notice, issued by ICSSR deputy director Nitin Kumar and addressed to CSDS director Awadhendra Sharan, listed eleven “major irregularities,” including a study conducted by CSDS on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of Bihar electoral rolls undertaken by the ECI, published with the title, ‘How inclusive is EC’s special revision exercise?’
“The CSDS seems to have published media stories based on biased interpretation of the SIR exercise by the ECI and deliberately scandalising and maligning the reputation and image of ECI which is a constitutional authority,” the notice states. “Another study conducted on elections held in Maharashtra in recent past and deliberately allowing its employee holding responsible position at CSDS to make incorrect statements in media…subsequently retracting from the same citing glitches in data analysis…”
The notice has also sought a reply from CSDS on allegations of “administrative and financial irregularities,” claiming that ICSSR has pointed them out in the past, but has not received any satisfactory response or action taken report from CSDS.
These include the appointment of faculty in violation of mandatory UGC regulations and ICSSR guidelines and the consequential extension of illegal financial benefits to such persons, appointment and promotion of non-academic staff in violation of recruitment rules, the failure to hold elections for the chairman of CSDS’ governing body, and the opaque method used to appoint the CSDS Director despite ICSSR’s instructions to follow an objective and transparent method.
The notice further raises concerns about the payment of House Rent Allowance (HRA) to employees staying in government accommodation allocated to their spouses and the grant of illegal financial benefits to such employees causing loss of public funds, CSDS’ annual accounts not being audited by the CAG or AG in order to hide financial embezzlement and the misuse of public funds, the failure to submit details of funds received through the FCRA route and its use. The notice stated that this lead to non-compliance with the principles of good governance issued by ICSSR.
“CSDS, Delhi has continuously been involved in various irregularities in the past and they were also reported to ICSSR in form of multiple complaints through various channels,” the show cause notice stated.
(Manas Dasgupta)