Activist-influencer Santosh Pandit sent in 14-day judicial custody
Social media influencer Santosh Pandit has been remanded to 14 days of judicial custody in Pune. He was arrested following complaints regarding allegedly obscene remarks made about a government minister and a local corporator.
Why it matters
The case highlights the ongoing legal tensions between social media activism, freedom of speech, and local defamation laws in India.
Social media influencer and activist Santosh Pandit, arrested by Pune Police for alleged objectionable remarks against a Maharashtra Minister and a woman corporator, was on Tuesday (September 8, 2026) remanded in 14 days’ judicial custody by a court in Pune.
After his five-day police custody ended, he was produced before the court.
As per the complaint filed by Sarika Kamble, a conservancy worker with the Pune Municipal Corporation, Pandit uploaded videos and posts containing obscene and sexually suggestive remarks regarding Maharashtra Higher and Technical Education Minister and local MLA Chandrakant Patil and a woman corporator.
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