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The Karnataka High Court on Friday castigated BJP MLC N Ravikumar over his alleged communal remark against Kalaburagi Deputy Commissioner Fouzia Taranum, questioning his reference to the senior IAS officer as being “from Pakistan” during a protest, LiveLaw reported.
Justice M Nagaprasanna made the observations while hearing Ravikumar’s petition seeking to quash criminal proceedings pending against him before the Bengaluru Special Court for Trial of Cases against MPs and MLAs.
The BJP legislator is accused of making the remark during a protest rally in Kalaburagi held in connection with the alleged detention of Karnataka Legislative Council Leader of Opposition Chalavadi Narayanaswamy at a government guest house for nine hours in May 2025.
Questioning the MLC, the court said Taranum was an IAS officer of Karnataka and questioned how she could be targeted on the basis of her religion. The court observed that Ravikumar could exercise his right to protest or conduct a yatra, but such statements against an IAS officer could not be made.
According to the report, Ravikumar’s counsel submitted that the BJP leader had made a statement during the ‘Kalaburagi Chalo’ march that “all police officers are slaves of the in-charge minister”. The counsel also told the court that an apology letter had been sent to the IAS officer immediately after the incident.
The court, however, questioned whether an apology could undo the impact of the alleged statement. “Your apology letter would take away the statement you made?” Justice Nagaprasanna asked, stressing that such remarks were not acceptable.
The State informed the court that the Kalaburagi administration had not granted permission for the protest while carrying the national flag. Ravikumar’s counsel argued that the event was a ‘Tiranga Yatra’ and that the administration had stopped the protesters from carrying the national flag.
The court said citizens could not be prevented from carrying the national flag and directed the State to produce records of the representation submitted by the protesters. It said that if the records showed that carrying the flag was part of the proposed protest and the administration had prevented it, the issue would be examined.
At the same time, the court cautioned Ravikumar against making statements against the IAS officer, saying political leaders should exercise restraint in their public statements.
The court also urged politicians to focus on public welfare instead of trading personal allegations. It said politicians across parties should stop “mudslinging” and speak about policies and issues affecting people, LiveLaw reported.
The case stems from a complaint by a Kalaburagi resident, following which police registered a case against Ravikumar under Sections 196(1)(a) and 196(1)(b), and Section 353(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023.
The High Court has posted the matter for further hearing on August 20.
