The Allahabad High Court has refused to quash the criminal prosecution against two men who allegedly posted 'anti-national' and objectionable content targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). The petition filed by Jubair Ansari and Izahar Alam sought to quash the case and chargesheet filed before a Sonbhadra court last year.
Court Observations
Justice Saurabh Srivastava, dismissing the petition, noted that the allegations against the accused prima facie stand corroborated. The court observed that the Facebook post attributed to the applicants amounted to a 'deliberate and malicious attempt' to outrage religious feelings.
'The conduct of the applicant in depicting the RSS—an organisation rendering services to various sections of society for nearly 100 years—along with the Prime Minister, who is indirectly elected by a majority of citizens exercising their right to vote, on the face of it attracts the relevant penal provisions,' the court stated.
Charges Against the Accused
The accused face charges under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) for allegedly promoting enmity in society and attempting to provoke a breach of peace with their statements. Their counsel argued that the FIR was a result of malicious intent to harass them, while the state contended that the case should proceed before the trial court.
Social Media Misuse
The high court highlighted that people on social media sometimes cross the line by uploading posts without understanding the consequences. 'One way, life has become easy and accessible where people can get together and express their views on certain issues. But sometimes social media is misused where people post such comments which hurt the feelings of others and triggers disharmony on a large scale,' the judge remarked.
The court cited past instances of social media misuse, including the 2012 case where morphed pictures and videos of earthquake victims were circulated to portray them as Muslim victims of civil riots in Assam and Burma, provoking further riots. It also noted that adult or pornographic videos are easily accessible by minors on social media.
Legal Provisions
The court clarified that Section 196(1)(a) of the BNS applies to Facebook posts when content deliberately promotes enmity, hatred, or ill-will between groups based on religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, caste, or community. Under this section, a post can lead to a cognizable offence if it disrupts public harmony.
Considering the material on record, the court concluded that it cannot be said that no offence was made out against the accused. 'The assertions of false implication raised by the applicants are factual issues that require proper adjudication by the trial court based on evidence and cannot be conclusively determined in proceedings under section 528 of BNSS,' the court said in its decision dated April 29.
