Kannada actor and social activist Chetan Kumar has been arrested after he reposted an old tweet about a Karnataka High Court judge who is now part of a three-member bench hearing the hijab case.

The actor, also known as Chetan Kumar Ahimsa, has been booked under Sections 505 (2) (statements creating or promoting enmity, hatred or ill-will between classes) and 504 (intentional insult) of the Indian Penal Code for reposting his old tweet about some “disturbing” comments by Justice Krishna S. Dixit while granting bail to a rape accused.

“This is a tweet I wrote two years ago regarding a Karnataka High Court decision. Justice Krishna Dixit made such disturbing comments in a rape case. Now the same judge is determining whether #hijabs are acceptable or not in govt schools. Does he have the clarity required?” the 39-year-old actor tweeted on February 16.

The tweet dated June 27, 2020, had said: “This week KA High Court Justice Krishna Dixit granted pre-arrest bail to rape-accused Rakesh B claiming ‘It is unbecoming of Indian women to sleep after rape; that is not way women react when are ravished.’ What’s unbecoming is 21st c misogyny of this judiciary Dixit fossil.”

The police took suo motu cognisance of the February 16 tweet.

A follower of Dr B.R. Ambedkar and Dravidian icon E.V. Ramaswamy, popularly known as Periyar, Chetan is against allowing any religious markings such as hijab or vermilion in educational institutions. “For uniformity & true secularism, majoritarian/ minoritarian/ all religious markers must be kept out of public schools,” he had tweeted recently.

Chetan was remanded in 14-day judicial custody by the additional chief metropolitan court.

His counsel S. Balan, who had filed a bail application, told The Telegraph on Wednesday that the court would pronounce its verdict on Friday.

The actor’s wife, Megha, accused the police of not informing the family about the arrest. “Police did not inform us. They just came home and picked him up… Police have a duty to at least tell his wife or allow him to call his family and tell them where he is,” she said in a video message.

She had on Tuesday evening gone to Sheshadripuram police station, but was told that Chetan had been taken to an undisclosed location as part of the investigation.