The court made the remark while dismissing a FIR against a man who hacked an MLA’s Facebook page and defamed his political opponents.
A First Information Report (FIR) filed against a guy who had hacked into MLA Ravi Rana’s Facebook page and used profanity against his political rivals was dismissed by the Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court on Monday.
Justices Sunil Shukre and MW Chandwani’s division bench remarked that Indian democracy has advanced to the point where it is now characterised by tolerance for legitimate criticism, dissent, and satirical remarks.
“The social media, such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, WhatsApp, Telegram, etc. today has become a powerful medium for exchange of views, expressing opinions, counter opinions, posting critical or satirical comments and thus has become one of the important pillars on which our democracy stands,” the Bench observed in the order.
The Bench clarified that this is only true as long as it is not abused by posting statements that are unlawful or do not adhere to the reasonable limitations on free expression set forth in Article 19(2) of the Constitution.
“Additionally, one must take care while expressing their opinions or making comments to avoid using language that is offensive, disrespectful, or insulting. In other words, it’s important to strike a balance between the need to encourage responsible social media use and the need to stop social media abuse.”
The 39-year-old man’s request to have the FIR registered against him under Section 153-A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for posting offensive content after hacking MLA Ravi Rana’s Facebook page was being heard by the Bench.
The prosecution contended that by using derogatory language towards Rana’s political rivals, the accused tried to sow discord among numerous groups.
However, the accused argued that Section 153-A only applies when there is a desire to sow discord between two groups based on factors such as religion, race, caste, etc.
After hearing both sides, the Bench stated, “In the instant case, considering the basic elements of an offence under Section 153-A of the Indian Penal Code and the filthy language used to condemn a leader, we are of the view that this delicate balance on which the social media stands is upset.”
Even though Section 153-A was not violated in this case, the Bench said, this does not allow the accused the right to disparage state government personnel.
Therefore, in the hopes that the parties would show moderation in the future, the Court dismissed the FIR.
“On the one hand, the applicant has been charged with an unspecified offence, and on the other, the applicant has reached a new low in his or her use of filthy comments to express disapproval. We hope that going forward, both parties would exercise some restraint.”
TS Deshpande’s supporters For the petitioner, AD Deshmukh made an appearance. IJ Damle, a second public prosecutor, represented the State.
Case Title:- Suraj Arvind Thakare v. State of Maharashtra
Written By: Lakshman Singh, BBA LLB (Hons.), Shri Ramswaroop Memorial University, Lucknow
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