The Supreme Court has ruled that the use of terms such as “miyan-tiyan” and “Pakistani” does not constitute an offence of hurting religious sentiments, though it acknowledged that such remarks were made in poor taste.
On Tuesday, a bench of Justices B V Nagarathna and Satish Chandra Sharma delivered the decision while discharging a man accused in a criminal case filed by an Urdu translator and acting clerk for Right to Information (RTI) at the sub-divisional office in Chas, Jharkhand.
In its order dated February 11, the court stated, “The appellant is accused of hurting the religious feelings of the informant by calling him ‘miyan-tiyan’ and ‘Pakistani’. Undoubtedly, the statements made are poor taste. However, it does not amount to hurting the religious sentiments of the informant. Hence, we are of the opinion that the appellant shall also be discharged under Section 298 IPC.”
Section 298 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) pertains to words or gestures made with a deliberate intent to wound religious feelings.
The case arose when the accused, Hari Nandan Singh, sought information under the RTI Act from the additional collector-cum-first appellate authority, Bokaro.
The information was dispatched to him, but he later filed an appeal before the appellate authority, allegedly after manipulating the documents sent to him by the office through registered post and making false allegations of manipulation in the documents.
The appellate authority directed the translator to personally deliver the information to the appellant. On November 18, 2020, the informant, accompanied by the messenger of the sub-divisional office, Chas, went to the accused’s residence to hand over the documents.
The accused initially refused to accept them but later took possession upon insistence by the informant. It was alleged that he then abused the informant while referring to his faith and used criminal force against him. The matter prompted the translator to file an FIR against the accused.
Following an investigation, the trial court ordered the framing of charges against the accused under Sections 353 (assault or criminal force on a public servant) and 504 (intentional insult) of the IPC. The Jharkhand High Court dismissed the accused’s plea to quash the proceedings.
While hearing the man’s appeal against the high court’s decision, the Supreme Court discharged him from the offence of intentional insult, observing that there was “no act on his part that could have provoked a breach of peace” apart from the charge under Section 353.
“We set aside the order of the high court which has sustained the order of the trial court and consequently allow the application filed by the appellant and discharge the appellant from all the three offences alleged against him,” the bench stated.
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