Singer Sonu Nigam moves Karnataka High Court to seek to withdraw criminal case on Kannada notes

Despite a public statement apologizing for his comments, the legal proceedings continued, prompting Sonu Nigam to file a request to dismiss the allegations. |Photo source: PTI

Singer Sonu Nigam is close to the Karnataka High Court, trying to dismiss alleged offensive remarks against Canadigas at a recent concert in Bangalore, a criminal case registered against him.

The petition was listed before Justice Shivashankar Amarannavar’s holiday chair, who postponed the matter until May 15. The controversy stems from an incident that took place at a live concert at the Bangalore Institute of Engineering on April 25.

During the show, several viewers asked Naigam to sing in Kannada. The report noted that the singer rejected the request and expressed dissatisfaction in expression, accusing some participants of being rude. Although Nigam affirmed his respect and admiration for Kannadigas, he allegedly caused controversy by pointing out that “this is why Pahalgam happened”, referring to the terrorist attacks in the search and Pahalgam area of ​​Kashmir.

The statement quickly attracted attention on social media and caused anger.

On May 2, Ta Dharmaraj, chairman of the Bengaluru city department of Rakshana Vedike (Narayana Gowda fintion), Karnataka, filed a complaint.

According to this complaint, Avarahari police registered a case on May 3 under several provisions of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, in 2023, in particular Section 351(2) (criminal intimidation), 352(1), 352(1) (insulting intended to provoke peaceful violations), and 353(statements) (statements may inspire public misunderstanding).

After a strong objection, Nigam issued a public statement expressing regret and apologizing for his comments. However, the legal proceedings continued, prompting the singer to file a current request to dismiss the charges.