The Allahabad High Court dismissed an application challenging the proceedings of the case under Sections 153-A and 295-A I.P.C. and Section 66 of the Information Technology Act, 2000, passed by the Judicial Magistrate-II, Aligarh. The court observed that even if the said comments were merely endorsed by the applicant by posting them on his Facebook, it matters not whether he is the author or the exponent of the comments.
Brief Facts:
The allegation against the applicant is that he has posted objectionable comments on his Facebook Account, regarding Lord Shiva, employing objectionable language, which has hurt the religious sentiments of the Hindu Community. The case is that by those comments, he insulted the religious sentiments of the Hindu Community. There were further comments fomenting communal hatred by the other co-accused, in the comments section of the Facebook Account. After the investigation, the Police submitted a charge sheet on the basis of the material collected. The Court took cognizance of the offence and the applicant has now challenged the resultant proceedings, through the present application under Section 482 Cr.P.C.
Contentions of the Applicant:
The Learned Counsel for the applicant argued that the comments posted on the applicant's Facebook were mere forwards by another Anjali Singh that are not the applicant's authorship
Observations of the Court:
The Court observed that if there is a comment which has the tendency to promote enmity between different groups on the ground of religion, posting it on one's Facebook would certainly constitute an offence. The words employed in the post are ones made with the deliberate and malicious intention of outraging the religious feelings of a particular section of the community or a class of citizens of the country. Even if the said comments have been endorsed by the applicant by posting them on his Facebook, it matters not whether he is the author or the exponent of the comments.
Further, the Court remarked that offences of these kinds that have a tendency to promote hatred between classes of people or communities have to be put down with a heavy hand. These offences cannot be permitted to flourish in society by adopting a soft-pedaling approach at the cost of widespread damage to the community.
The decision of the Court:
The Allahabad High Court, dismissing the application, held that there is absolutely no good ground to quash the proceedings in the exercise of powers under Section 482 Cr.P.C.
Case Title: Asif v State Of U.P & Anr.
Coram: Hon’ble Justice J.J. Munir
Case no.: APPLICATION U/S 482 No. - 10602 of 2023
Advocate for the Applicant: Mr. Gauri Shanker Mishra
Advocate for the Respondent: G. A.
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