Nalla Balu case: SC upholds Telangana HC order, lays guidelines to curb arrests over social media posts

Hyderabad: The Supreme Court has dismissed a challenge to a Telangana High Court order that had quashed cases filed against ‘BRS social media activist’ Shashidhar Goud, popularly known as Nalla Balu on social media.

The court found no merit to the government’s contentions and endorsed the earlier ruling that protected the individual from criminal action over a social media retweet.

Guidelines to protect people for their social media posts

The HC also laid down clear guidelines to prevent the indiscriminate booking and detention of individuals for social media posts.

What is the case about?

The case relates to the arrest of Nalla Balu for allegedly retweeting content shared from the official BRS party social media handle.

Telangana HC had criticised the State police

The High Court, in September last year, had strongly criticised the State police for what it described as an ‘illegal and overzealous arrest.’

The investigating agency then approached the Supreme Court of India.

Senior advocate Siddharth Luthra was engaged to argue the matter on behalf of the state.

The bench, comprising Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice Vijay Bishnoi, after hearing arguments from both sides, rejected the State government’s plea and upheld the High Court’s decision.