SC stays FIRs against Lokniti CSDS over election data posts

The Supreme Court on Monday temporarily shielded psephologist Sanjay Kumar, the co-director of Lokniti CSDS, from arrest and stayed two FIRs filed against him over deleted social media posts alleging large discrepancies in Maharashtra’s 2024 election data. The bench issued notice on his plea seeking quashing of the cases and directed that no coercive action be taken against him while the matter is heard, signaling judicial caution over a high-profile disagreement that had become a focal point in the political debate over electoral data integrity.

The two FIRs were registered in Maharashtra after Kumar posted figures that purported a sharp drop in voter turnout in two assembly constituencies when compared with the 2024 general elections. He later deleted the posts and issued a public apology, stating that the discrepancy arose from a data-reading error and that the tweets were not intended to spread misinformation. Despite the apology, the complaints, lodged by the Ramtek tehsildar in Nagpur and the Nashik tehsildar, accused Kumar of offences including false information related to elections, statements likely to public mischief, and the use of forged or false records, among...