SC asks states to register hate speech cases even if no complaint is made
Recently, the Supreme Court has said that an FIR will be registered in the hate speech case even without any complaint.
- The Court also directed to take action against the offenders without waiting for a formal complaint.
- Along with this, it also said that any kind of negligence in compliance of this order will be considered as contempt of court.
- Hate speech has not been defined in any law of India. It can be expressed through any form of expression. These include pictures, cartoons, objects, gestures and symbols. Hate speech can be disseminated offline or online
- According to the 267th report of the Law Commission of India, hate speech is defined as incitement to hatred against a group of persons generally defined in terms of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, religious belief and so on.
- The Law Commission has proposed to add two new sections (153C and 505A) to the Indian Penal Code (IPC) to specifically criminalize hate speech.
Law for hate speech
- Different sections of IPC, 1860 (e.g. – 153A, 153B, 298 etc.) make penal provisions against speech or words which may cause harm or cause danger to national integrity.
- Under Article 19(2) of the Constitution, reasonable restrictions can be imposed on the right to freedom of speech and expression on grounds of public order, decency or morality etc.
Source – The Hindu
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