Chanting 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai' not hate speech: Karnataka HC
The Karnataka High Court has ruled that chanting "Bharat Mata Ki Jai" does not constitute hate speech. The court stated that the chant could not be perceived as promoting disharmony or enmity among religions by "no stretch of the imagination." The ruling was made by Justice M Nagaprasanna while quashing an FIR filed against five men under Section 153A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). This section penalizes promoting enmity between different groups based on religion, race, language, among others.
Court quashes FIR against 5 men
The five men, residents of Ullal taluk in Karnataka, were charged by the police in June this year. On June 9, the petitioners were returning from an event celebrating Prime Minister Narendra Modi's oath-taking ceremony when they were attacked by a group of people. The petitioners alleged that they were questioned, assaulted, and stabbed for chanting "Bharat mata ki jai." They then approached the police and registered a complaint, but the following day, a FIR was filed against them.
Court criticizes misuse of Section 153A
The FIR was filed following a complaint made by a Muslim man who alleged that the petitioners had threatened him. However, Justice Nagaprasanna stated that this was a case of a counter blast to the complaint that had been registered by the petitioners. Justice Nagaprasanna criticized the misuse of Section 153A in this case, stating that not a single ingredient of the section was met.
Court cites previous rulings on similar cases
The judge also referenced previous rulings by the Supreme Court and the Andhra Pradesh High Court. In both cases, proceedings were quashed due to insufficient evidence to invoke Section 153A. The Andhra Pradesh High Court even established certain conditions for invoking this provision. Based on these precedents and the lack of evidence in the current case, Justice Nagaprasanna decided to quash the FIR against the five men.
