Suraj S/O Arvind Thakare vs The State Of Mah. Thr. Pso, Ps ...
2022 Latest Caselaw 13178 Bom

                                           1                  apl701.22

         IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY
                   NAGPUR BENCH : NAGPUR

          CRIMINAL APPLICATION (APL) NO.701 OF 2022

Suraj s/o Arvind Thakare,
aged about 39 years,
occupation : Agriculturist,
r/o near Sofisaya Baba Darga,
Tahsil Rajura, District Chandrapur.                ...   Applicant
             - Versus -
1)   The State of Maharashtra,
     through its Police Station Officer,
     Police Station, Rajura, Tahsil
     Rajura, District Chandrapur.

2)   Vasudeo s/o Bapuji Chaffle,
     aged about 47 years, occupation :
     Shiv Sena Taluka Head, r/o
     Mangi (Bu.), Tahsil Rajura,
     District Chandrapur.                          ... Non-applicants
              -----------------
Shri T.S. Deshpande, Advocate and Shri A.D. Deshmukh, Advocate
for applicant.
Shri I.J. Damle, Additional Public Prosecutor for non-applicant no.1.
             ----------------
                                CORAM : SUNIL B. SHUKRE AND
                                        M.W. CHANDWANI, JJ.

DATED : DECEMBER 19, 2022

ORAL JUDGMENT (PER SUNIL B. SHUKRE, J.) :

Rule. Rule is made returnable forthwith. Heard finally

by the consent of the learned Counsel appearing for the parties.

                                       2                       apl701.22

2)          On the basis of the complaint lodged by the non-

applicant no.2, Police Station, Rajura, District Chandrapur registered

an offence punishable under Section 153-A of Indian Penal Code

against the applicant. The allegations are that by using facebook

page of Mr. Ravi Rana, M.L.A., the applicant kept on posting filthy

and abusive comments, such as " xkaM QkVyh xxx xxx ph"] "g;kP;k

ckikph eqacbZ ukgh vkgs] lkyk khatam xxxx"] "xxx xxx] enZ vlsy

rj y< one by one"] "xkaM QkVyh xxx ph"] "2 up Hkjh iMys gs dk;

y<rhy xxx lkscr fpo lSfud". On the basis of these allegations,

Police Station, Rajura registered an offence punishable under Section

153-A of Indian Penal Code against the applicant.

3) According to Shri Deshpande, learned Counsel for the

applicant, no offence punishable under Section 153-A of Indian Penal

Code is made out against the applicant even if all the allegations are

accepted and read as they are. However, Shri Damle, learned

Additional Public Prosecutor for the non-applicant no.1, submits that

broadly speaking these allegations do indicate that they have

potential to incite violence and thus, disturbing public order and also

creating feeling of insecurity amongst members of different groups 3 apl701.22

on the ground of religion, race, language or regional groups or castes

or communities.

4) Upon careful consideration of the allegations made in

the first information report filed against the applicant, we find that

there is a great substance in the submission of the learned Counsel

for the applicant. All these allegations even if they are taken at their

face value, by no stretch of imagination, could be said to be

transcending into the forbidden area of communal or different groups

divided on religious, racial, residential or linguistic lines and creating

disharmony amongst them. None of these allegations could be said

to be made even remotely by keeping in view a particular religion or

particular place of birth or residence or some specific language.

Then, in order that the spoken or written words or something said

through signs or visible representation promotes or attempts to

promote on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence,

language, caste or community or any other ground disharmony or

feeling of enmity or hatred or ill-will between different groups, the

words said or signs or representations made must be accompanied by

intention to promote or attempt to promote disharmony or feeling of

enmity, hatred or ill-will amongst such different groups. As stated 4 apl701.22

earlier, the abuses prima facie attributed to the applicant do not seem

to have been made with any such criminal intention. Even

otherwise, such written or spoken words or signs or representations

must have been said or made in a manner as would have had

tendency of creating public disorder or disturbance of law and order

or affecting public tranquility as held in paragraph 9 of the judgment

of the Apex Court delivered in the case of Patricia Mukhim vs. State

of Meghalaya and others (2021 SCC Online SC 258). Here, no such

consequence or tendency can be read in the words posted on the

facebook of Mr. Ravi Rana, M.L.A. Therefore, we are of the opinion

that no offence punishable under Section 153-A of Indian Penal

Code, which requires presence of the ingredients we have just

pointed out, is made out in any manner in this case.

5) It appears to us that apart from Section 153-A of Indian

Penal Code, no other offence has been registered against the

applicant and, therefore, this is a fit case for making interference in

the matter.

6) Before parting with the judgment, we would like to state

here that our democracy has progressed so much where tolerance to

fair criticism or dissent or critical and satirical comments has become 5 apl701.22

its hallmark. The social media, such as facebook, instagram, twitter,

whatsapp, telegram, etc. today has become a powerful medium for

exchange of views, expressing opinions, views, counter opinions and

counter views, posting critical or satirical comments and thus has

become one of the important pillars on which our democracy stands.

But, the social media is so only till the point it is not misused by

posting remarks, articles, etc., which by themselves constitute an

offence or which do not fall within the prohibited zone created in

terms of Article 19(2) of the Constitution. In addition, one has to be

careful when one expresses one's view or makes comments that the

words used are not obscene or indignified or demeaning. In other

words, a balance has to be struck between the need for healthy use

of social media and the need for preventing misuse of social media.

In the present case, considering the essential ingredients of an

offence under Section 153-A of Indian Penal Code and the filthy

language used to denounce a leader, we are of the view that this fine

balance on which the social media stands is upset. It is a different

matter that offence of promoting enmity between different groups

punishable under Section 153-A of Indian Penal Code is not made

out in this case. But, that does not give licence to the applicant to

revile Head of the State Government; to be bawdy about the Head.

6 apl701.22

A crime not disclosed has been registered against the applicant on

the one hand and a new ebb in showing dissent through lewd

comments has been attained by the applicant on the other. We hope,

in future some restrain will be shown by both sides.

7) In view of above, we allow the application and hereby

quash and set aside the First Information Report vide Crime

No.171/2022 registered at Police Station, Rajura, District

Chandrapur.

8) Rule is made absolute in the above terms. No costs.

                                       JUDGE                                               JUDGE



                              khj




Digitally Signed By:KAMAL HUNDRAJ
JESWANI
Signing Date:20.12.2022 16:57