Karnataka High Court has ordered no coercive action against Sonu Nigam over his alleged remarks against Kannadigas. The singer can cooperate via video call instead of appearing in person.a
On Thursday, the Karnataka High Court gave relief to Bollywood singer Sonu Nigam by saying that no strict action should be taken against him for now in the criminal case where he is accused of making insulting remarks about the Kannadiga community during a music concert in Bengaluru.
However, the Court clearly said that this relief will continue only if Sonu Nigam fully cooperates with the ongoing police investigation.
Justice Shivashankar Amarannavar gave this temporary relief while hearing Sonu Nigam’s petition where he had requested the court to cancel the FIR and criminal case filed against him.
The case was based on the allegation that he had insulted Kannada-speaking people during a concert held at East Point College of Engineering and Technology in April 2025.
The Court passed the interim order after the Karnataka government told the court that it does not plan to arrest or take any coercive steps against the singer at the moment, as long as he agrees to cooperate with the investigation.
In its order, the Court stated:
“Till next date of hearing, filing of final report is stayed. There shall not be any coercive steps (provided Nigam cooperates with the investigation).”
Additionally, the Court said that Sonu Nigam does not need to travel to Karnataka in person if the police want to record his statement.
Instead, the Court allowed him to appear through video conferencing. If the police still feel that recording his statement in person is necessary, they can visit Sonu Nigam’s home to do so.
However, in such a case, Sonu Nigam will have to pay for the expenses of the police visit.
The judge included this direction in the order after Sonu Nigam’s lawyer, Advocate Dhananjay Vidyapati, requested the Court to excuse him from travelling to Karnataka.
Vidyapati said,
“Since he is a celebrity, let him send statement by post. If he has to appear physically, again it will lead to more tamasha,”
highlighting how public attention could make the situation worse.
However, the State’s lawyer objected to this, saying that giving special treatment to celebrities is not right.
The lawyer argued:
“We will protect him. It will be giving too much convenience, it cannot be that some people are given a premium.”
The Court replied by saying that Sonu Nigam is not an ordinary person, as pointed out by his lawyer. To this, the State’s counsel responded:
“This was all the more reason for Nigam to have refrained from making any controversial remarks.”
Despite the arguments, the Court agreed with Nigam’s request and allowed him to give his statement through video conferencing.
the Court ordered,
“Petitioner is permitted to appear through videoconferencing for the purpose of recording his statement, if so required. If IO wants to record statement of petitioner physically, the petitioner shall bear the expenses of IO to record the statement at his place,”
This criminal case came up because of what happened at a concert in April at East Point College of Engineering and Technology in Bengaluru.
During the event, some people in the audience requested Sonu Nigam to sing Kannada songs. However, according to the complaint, Nigam refused and got upset over how the request was made.
He then reportedly made a controversial comment by connecting the tone of the request to a serious incident.
He said:
“This is the reason Pahalgam happened.”
Nigam later clarified that he respects Kannada-speaking people and has love for the Kannadiga community.
He explained that he only got offended by the rude way in which some audience members asked him to sing in Kannada.
In court, Nigam’s lawyer argued that the issue was just a one-time incident and that the rest of the concert went on peacefully.
He also said that the complaint was not filed by anyone directly involved in the concert but by a third party who was doing it just for publicity.
But the State government opposed this and said that Nigam should not have compared a simple fan request to the tragic Pahalgam terror attack.
The State’s lawyer further said that Sonu Nigam has not been cooperating properly with the police in the investigation.
The lawyer argued:
“A person who does not respect due process of law cannot be given benefit of (Section) 482 (provision empowering High Courts to quash criminal cases before a trial in the interest of justice) … We will not take any coercive steps, let him cooperate with investigation.”
The criminal complaint against Sonu Nigam was officially filed on May 2 by TA Dharmaraj, who is the Bangalore City District President of a Kannada organisation called Karnataka Rakshana Vedike (Narayana Gowda faction).
The Avalahalli police registered the FIR on May 3 under Sections 351(2) (criminal intimidation), 352(1) (insult to provoke a breach of peace), and 353 (statements conducing to public mischief) of the new Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023.
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Meanwhile, Sonu Nigam has publicly expressed regret for his statements and has issued apologies.
This case is expected to be heard again soon, and until then, no police action will be taken against the singer as long as he supports the investigation process.
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