Post against Covid curbs: Kerala HC refuses to quash case against man

Kochi: High court has refused to quash a case against a man for his Facebook posts allegedly encouraging the public to violate the restrictions imposed by the state govt to check the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic and has asserted that he must face trial for the offence.Justice G Gireesh issued the order while dismissing a petition filed by Biji Garnet of Puthenthoppu at Kadinamkulam in Thiruvananthapuram, seeking to quash the case registered against him by the Kadinamkulam police in 2020. The prosecution case against Garnet was that he allegedly induced the public through his Facebook posts to violate the restrictions imposed by the state govt to check the spread of the pandemic. A case had been registered against him under Section 153 of the Kerala Police Act for allegedly provoking the public with intent to cause a riot, and under Section 6 of the Kerala Epidemic Diseases Ordinance, 2020, for allegedly breaching the epidemic regulations.Upon perusing the alleged Facebook posts, the court observed that the petitioner intended to create a mindset among readers to violate the restrictions imposed by the state govt to combat the pandemic. The court noted that such conduct is not expected of right-thinking citizens, who are bound to abide by the directions of the authorities concerned in the interest of public health and safety. Therefore, there was no justification in contending that the posts made by the petitioner on social media could not be termed as intended to provoke rioting.Accordingly, HC dismissed the petition and categorically stated that he must face trial for the offences allegedly committed by him.