New Delhi: The Supreme Court of India judged Wednesday that referring to someone as “Miyan-Tiyan” or “Pakistani”, although inappropriate and unpleasant, is not an offense under the law for having injured religious feelings.
The decision was made while the Supreme Court rejected a case against a man accused of insulted an official of the government by calling him “Pakistani” during a dispute.
The complaint was filed by a translator in Ourdou and an acting clerk in Jharkhand, who allegedly alleged that the accused had used these conditions while discussing a request for right to information (RTI).
According to the complainant, the accused not only launched the remarks but also used an offensive language and tried to obstruct the execution of his official functions. Consequently, a FIR was recorded against the accused under the sections of the Indian Criminal Code (IPC) linked to injured religious feelings, the intentional insult to provoke a violation of peace and an recourse to the criminal force to dissuade an official from duty.
Taking up a decision of the High Court of Jharkhand, a Supreme Court bench comprising the judges BV Nagarathna and Satish Chandra Sharma said that, although the statements were in bad taste, they did not constitute a criminal offense.
The bench observed that the appellant had been accused of injuring the religious feelings of the informant by calling him “Miyan-Tiyan” and “Pakistani”. Although the declarations are undoubtedly inappropriate, they did not constitute an offense under article 298 of the IPC.
The court also ruled that there was no evidence of provocation leading to a violation of peace, nor any physical strength used to obstruct the complainant of the execution of his functions. Consequently, the accused was released from all charges under articles 298, 504 and 353 of the IPC.
Initially, the short magistrate found sufficient reasons to supervise accusations under various sections of the IPC, including religious insults and the obstruction of an official.
However, after Jharkhand’s high court confirmed the accusations, the accused, Hari Nandan Singh, challenged the decision of the Supreme Court, who finally ruled in his favor, rejecting the case.
