259 cases booked against fake news in Karnataka since 2023, but only six convictions so far

From 2023 to now, a total of 259 cases have been booked against the sharing/broadcasting of fake news in media or social media in Karnataka, according to data from the Home Department shared in the ongoing session of the Karnataka Legislature. However, of them, only six cases have ended in conviction and penalties have been levied, highlighting the challenges in countering the menace of misinformation.

From 2023 to now, a total of 259 cases have been booked against the sharing/broadcasting of fake news in media or social media in Karnataka, according to data from the Home Department shared in the ongoing session of the Karnataka Legislature. However, of them, only six cases have ended in conviction and penalties have been levied, highlighting the challenges in countering the menace of misinformation.

After the Congress came to power in the State in 2023, the State government constituted an Information Disorder Tackling Unit (IDTU) to tackle fake news. These cases included those flagged by the unit. Recently, in the Legislative Council, Home Minister G. Parameshwara said that 107 cases were booked in 2023, 139 cases in 2024, and 13 cases have been booked so far in 2025 against entities sharing fake news. Bengaluru Urban district leads the charts with 48, 45, and 2 cases in 2023, 2024, and 2025, respectively, followed by Uttara Kannada district, which had 19, 27, and 3 cases in 2023, 2024, and 2025, respectively.

However, of all the cases that have been registered so far, there have been only six convictions. Over three years, only 75 cases were investigated. According to a senior police official, the reason for such low rates is the legal ambiguity around the subject of fake news. 

“The reason many of the cases against fake news do not see the light of the day is because nobody knows what sections of Indian Penal Code (IPC) or Bharatiya Nyay Samhita (BNS) such cases should be booked under. Secondly, there is also no clear definition of what fake news is as one person’s fake news might not be the same for another person,” the official said. 

He said that the cases which have been booked so far against fake news might be under Section 506 of IPC – Punishment for Criminal Intimidation. He also said that the approach of the Karnataka government to fake news has been holistic so far with the constitution of IDTU under the Department of Information Technology and Biotechnology (IT/BT).  

“Information disorder is not just fake news and can include multiple issues like deep fakes, online harassment of women and children, and others. But the IDTU has not been as active as it is supposed to be,” the police official said. 

When asked about the legal repercussions of fake news in the Council, Dr. Parameshwara said that when someone shares fake news, then notices can be issued to respective social media platforms, and the accused can be booked under the IT Act, 2000, or IPC/BNS.