HC Stays FIR Proceedings Over Social Media Posts on Punjab CM’s Helicopter Use
The case is linked to a social media post by an RTI activist who had raised questions about the movement of a helicopter allotted to the Chief Minister on December 8 last year, at a time when Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann was in Japan.
On Monday, the Punjab and Haryana High Court stayed further proceedings in an FIR registered against four people—including an RTI activist and three journalists—following a social media post related to the use of the Punjab Chief Minister’s helicopter.
The High Court also issued a notice to the Punjab government, returnable on February 23. A “notice of motion” is a formal legal document filed to inform the court and the opposing parties that one side (the “moving party”) is seeking a specific order or decision from the court on a particular issue.
Justice Vinod S. Bhardwaj passed an interim order while hearing a petition seeking the quashing of the FIR.
According to the petition, the case began with a social media post by law student and RTI activist Manik Goyal. In the post, Goyal questioned the movement of the helicopter allotted to the Chief Minister on December 8 last year, when Bhagwant Mann was on an official visit to Japan.
The petition stated that the information shared in the post was taken from FlightRadar24, described as a legal and publicly accessible flight-tracking platform. The petitioner explained that after entering the helicopter’s number, he observed that on December 8, the helicopter flew multiple times within Chandigarh, then travelled to Amritsar and another location, before finally returning to Chandigarh. According to the petition, only publicly available information was shared in the post, and the intent was to raise questions about transparency in the use of public resources.
The petitioners argued that the issue sparked public debate. The petitioners, who are journalists by profession, also raised similar concerns on their media platforms and conducted an interview with the RTI activist. The plea further alleged that instead of addressing the issues raised, the state allegedly initiated criminal proceedings.
After considering the arguments, Justice Vinod S. Bhardwaj stayed further investigation in the matter and issued notice to the Punjab government, directing it to respond by February 23.
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