Bengaluru: The High Court has directed the External Affairs Department to hold technical-level discussions with the King of Saudi Arabia to ensure that Mangaluru-based Shailesh Kumar, currently in jail in Saudi Arabia under the Sedition Act, case is not prejudiced. Shailesh Kumar has been accused of creating a fake Facebook account and posting objectionable content targeting the King of Saudi Arabia and Islam. Justice Krishna S., who heard the petition, headed the bench and directed action to be taken to ensure the safety of the victims. The hearing was adjourned. The bench examined the affidavit submitted by the Central Government and stated that conducting correspondence alone is not sufficient for the governments. Our police should demonstrate the same agility and skill as the police in Scotland and Mossad. This is an example of an Indian citizen’s life being at risk in a foreign land, and the bench expressed concerns about the treatment of Indians abroad in the future. The bench also questioned why the same approach taken in the case of Indian national Kulbhushan Jadav, who is currently in jail in Pakistan, is not being applied here.
While the Government claims that efforts are underway, the bench stated that these efforts are inadequate. The victims should not have been punished, and the bench questioned the Government’s inaction and its impact on building confidence. Saudi Arabia is among India’s favoured foreign countries, and in such cases, our dealings should adhere to the Vienna Convention. The bench opined that when a citizen of our country is in danger abroad, it is the responsibility of the High Court, as the highest court of the state, to address the issue.45-year-old Salian Shailesh Kumar, a resident of Bikarnakatte, Mangalore, has been employed at Al Kuber in Saudi Arabia for 25 years. His wife and children reside in Bikarnakatte.
Shailesh had posted in support of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and National Registration Act (NRC) on his Facebook account, enacted by the Central Government in 2019. As a result, he received threats from anonymous individuals, prompting him to delete his Facebook account. However, in February 2020, an anonymous person using the name Shailesh Kumar created a fake Facebook account and posted derogatory content in the name of the Saudi Arabian ruler and his religion. Shailesh had informed his friends and relatives in Mangalore about this before he became aware of the situation. Subsequently, Shailesh was arrested by the Saudi police.
In response, his wife Kavitha filed a complaint in Mangalore. The Mangalore police initiated an investigation and wrote a letter to Meta (Facebook), requesting information about the person responsible for creating the fake account using Shailesh’s name. Kavitha also submitted a request to the Central Government, demanding action to secure the release of her innocent husband from the Saudi jail. As her appeal did not yield results, she protested the slow pace of the police investigation and approached the High Court in 2021.