Supreme Court Halts FIRs Against Psephologist Sanjay Kumar Over Voter Data Error

The Supreme Court on Monday (25 August) paused FIRs filed against psephologist Sanjay Kumar after he apologised for sharing incorrect voter data in Maharashtra, reported NDTV.

A bench of Chief Justice of India BR Gavai and Justice NV Anjaria heard the plea when Kumar’s counsel argued that he had an impeccable integrity and had already admitted the mistake.

“This (is a) person with impeccable integrity. Thirty years of service to the nation and to the world. He's highly respected. It was a mistake. He apologised. He deleted and apologised publicly,” the counsel told the bench, prompting the Chief Justice to halt proceedings.

Kumar, associated with the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS), had claimed on X that voter numbers in Nashik West and Hingna constituencies rose by 47 per cent and 43 per cent respectively, while Ramtek and Devlali saw sharp declines of 38 per cent and 36 per cent. Congress leaders used his post to accuse the BJP and Election Commission of voter fraud.

Two days later, Kumar deleted the posts and issued a public apology: “I sincerely apologise for the tweets posted regarding Maharashtra elections. Error occurred while comparing data of 2024 LS and 2024 AS. The data in row was misread by our data team. The tweet has since been removed. I had no intention of dispersing any form of misinformation.”

The BJP countered strongly, with its IT cell head Amit Malviya accusing Congress of relying on false data. Maharashtra police later registered FIRs in Nagpur and Nashik against Kumar under sections related to false information and election violations.

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Also Read: CSDS Pollster Sanjay Kumar Retracts Voter Fraud Claims In Maharashtra, BJP Slams “Fake Narrative”