Rohit Pawar Meets Maharashtra DGP, Seeks Relief for Political Workers Facing Social Media Cases

Pune/Mumbai, 22nd October 2026: A delegation led by Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) MLA Rohit Pawar has urged Maharashtra Director General of Police (DGP) Sadanand Date to take steps to prevent the registration of criminal cases against people for expressing criticism of the government on social media.

The delegation submitted a letter to the DGP, highlighting concerns over criminal cases registered against political workers for their social media posts. It also submitted Supreme Court orders concerning the protection of political commentary online and the legal safeguards to be followed before initiating criminal proceedings.

The delegation included advocates Sameer Shaikh, Yogesh Sawant, Sajid Shaikh and Vikram Gawade, along with other prominent individuals.

According to the delegation, the Supreme Court’s directions were cited to argue that political commentary on social media is protected under the law and that criminal cases should not be registered without proper inquiry. The delegation also raised concerns over cases alleging defamation of political leaders being registered on complaints filed by third parties.

The delegation referred to the arrests of Mahadev Balgude and Santosh Pandit and asked the DGP to take note of the reasons for their arrests being communicated to them. It also sought a circular directing police personnel to provide written reasons for arrest at least two hours before making an arrest.

The delegation further requested that criminal cases registered against political workers from different parties over social media posts be withdrawn wherever they were found to violate the Supreme Court’s directions.

Following the meeting, DGP Sadanand Date reportedly assured the delegation that police personnel would be instructed to issue notice at least two hours before making arrests. He also assured them that appropriate steps would be taken promptly in cases involving social media posts, in accordance with the Supreme Court’s ruling.

Advocate Sameer Shaikh highlighted a February 2026 Supreme Court decision and brought to the DGP’s attention the issue of quashing political cases related to social media posts registered both before and after the ruling.

The delegation said implementation of the relevant court directions could benefit hundreds of political workers across party lines.