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Apr

SC Judgement Reflects Broader Concern for Freedom of Expression

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A person with a mustache AI-generated content may be incorrect.Poisoned percepts betray their patterns. More so when policing, like poker, degenerates into the continuation of politics by other means.

The Supreme Court of India had harsh words for the Gujarat Police, which should resonate throughout the uniformed force nationwide. Quashing an FIR filed against Congress MP Imran Pratapgarhi over his social media post of a poem, “Ae khoon Ke pyase baat suno”, it ruled that the right of citizens to express themselves could not be trampled upon on “flimsy and fanciful” grounds. “No offence is attracted”, and police must understand the meaning of written and spoken words before registering a case in such matters, it noted.

The Apex Court on March 28 said the fundamental right to free speech through poetry, theatre, stand-up comedy, and satire must be cherished. The cops had charged the Congress MP with inciting discord through his poem on “suffering injustice with love”.

The judgment came following an appeal filed by Pratapgarhi against the registration of a criminal case by the Gujarat Police under Section 196 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). “Seventy-five years into our Republic, we cannot be seen to be so shaky on our fundamentals that a mere recital of a poem, or for that matter, any form of art or entertainment, such as stand-up comedy, can be alleged to lead to animosity or hatred amongst different communities. Subscribing to such a view would stifle all legitimate expressions of view in the public domain, which is so fundamental to a free society,” a Bench of Justices A.S. Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan wrote in its verdict.

The Apex Court threw a protective halo around citizens who bear the brunt of government-induced or police-orchestrated harassment for spoken or written words and to ensure a measure of artistic freedom. “FIRs should not be lodged blindly in a mechanical manner”, the Bench ruled.

Column at a Glance
The Supreme Court of India recently criticized the Gujarat Police for quashing an FIR against Congress MP Imran Pratapgarhi, who faced charges for a poem he posted on social media. The court emphasized that citizens' rights to free expression, including through poetry and satire, should not be suppressed on "flimsy" grounds. The ruling highlighted the importance of artistic freedom and cautioned against the mechanical filing of FIRs by law enforcement.
Thursday Thunder
By R.K. Misra
The judgment reflects a broader concern about the misuse of legal provisions to silence dissent, particularly against opposition leaders in BJP-ruled states. The article also touches on other instances of political figures facing legal challenges for their expressions, illustrating a troubling trend of targeting dissenting voices in India. The court's decision serves as a reminder of the need to protect free speech in a democratic society.

The top court said free speech was an integral part of a healthy and civilised society. A person’s views cannot be silenced merely because the majority does not like the sound of them. The law enforcement authorities and courts must employ the standards of reasonable, strong-minded, firm, and courageous minds, and not weak and vacillating ones who scent danger in every hostile point of view, before initiating criminal action against freedom of expression. “The poem's words (posted by the Congress MP) do not bring about or promote disharmony. It only tells the rulers of the reaction if the fight for rights is met with injustice”, the judgement noted.

Interestingly, the Gujarat Police had charged Pratapgarhi following a complaint by a clerk of an advocate who alleged that the poem by him on social media was offensive. The police moved fast, invoking sections 197 (prejudicial imputations against national unity), 299 (intentional actions to provoke religious sentiments) and 302 (Speaking words to hurt religious feelings) of the BNS. The Gujarat High Court declined to dismiss the FIR on January 17 and sought redressal from the Supreme Court. The answer from the Apex Court rings loud and clear and is an answer for many to come clean.

If it was a ‘hurt’ citizen who sought redressal for a social media post from the Congress MP, it was a BJP leader in Gujarat who had been so hurt by a speech delivered by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in Kolar Karnataka, that he filed a criminal defamation case in a Surat court in 2019. The Court convicted Gandhi to two years of imprisonment on March 23, 2023, but suspended his sentence, granted bail and allowed him to appeal to the High Court. The Lok Sabha secretariat moved with lightning speed, and the next day, a notification was issued informing all concerned, including the Election Commission of India. Gandhi moved the High Court, which on July 7, 2023, refused to stay the conviction, stating that he had breached ‘modesty’ and his actions displayed ’moral turpitude’ besides him being a habitual offender.

Gandhi knocked on the doors of the Supreme Court, which ruled on August 4, 2023, that Rahul Gandhi’s criminal defamation conviction and sentencing were unjustified. “The three-judge bench held that the two-year jail term was excessive and devoid of reason. I was appalled by the lack of reasoning for such a strict sentence.

Earlier, on April 20, 2022, Gujarat legislator Jignesh Mevani, who was part of the Congress grouping, was arrested from the Palanpur circuit house in Gujarat by the Assam Police for a purported tweet against Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He was granted bail by a local court in Assam, but before the hearing could begin, Mevani was picked up in other cases and re-arrested by the Assam Police. He was subsequently bailed out again.

The pattern is discernable. For all practical purposes, Gujarat seems to be a happy hunting ground for ‘honourable gentlemen’ in BJP-ruled states whose sentiments are ‘hurt’ to vent their spleen against ‘targeted’ Opposition leaders. And the cops are too busy playing second fiddle to their political masters for any impartial evaluation. That the Apex court must teach them the nuances of Hindi literature alongside plain policing is a sad augury on the prevailing state of affairs.

Meanwhile, a nation preoccupied by ancient history and its religious sub-divisions of all makes and sorts has sought momentary distraction in stand-up comic Kunal Kamra in a shift of scene to Maharashtra. Kamra is in the dock for his comments on Maharashtra deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde, with FIRs piling up against him. The Habitat studio in Mumbai, a hub for stand-up comedy, has been vandalised by Shiv Sainiks and has indefinitely closed the shutters. The Sainiks are all, of course, out on bail. Kamra, a resident of Tamil Nadu, has been granted interim protection from arrest by the Tamil Nadu High Court with a notice to the Khar police in Mumbai, returnable by April 7. It is now the turn of stand-up comics to be put under notice. “Out of bound for all comic comments” reads the unwritten notice.!

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