Friday, 17 May, 2024
In the past few years, the country has seen a phenomenal rise in hate speeches cutting across political and religious lines. Image Source: Times of India
The Government has given approval for Annamalai's prosecution for the offences covered by sections 153-A (intention to cause riot) and 505 (promoting enmity) of the Indian Penal Code.
The Tamil Nadu government has given permission to prosecute K Annamalai, the state head of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), for allegedly using "hate speech" against a Christian missionary NGO in remarks he made to Rajavel Nagarajan of the Pesu Tamizha Pesu YouTube channel.
The Salem district collector had referred to a complaint from a V Piyush of Salem, according to a government order (GO.MS. No 652) issued by the public department on October 18. The order sought permission to prosecute Annamalai and Rajavel Nagarajan of the YouTube channel Pesu Tamizha Pesu for offences punishable under Section 153 (intention to cause riot), 505 (promoting enmity between classes), and 120A (criminal conspiracy).
According to the GO, the state public prosecutor, whose view was requested on the matter, concluded that Annamalai had, in fact, made "intentionally and out of context" comments on a Christian Missionary NGO, which led the NGO to file a petition in the Supreme Court.
In his address, Annamalai openly uses terms and expressions that are typically seen as disrespectful to both society and a certain religion. "Annamalai's speech clearly fits the definition of "hate speech," he said. The GO noted that Annamalai's statements were made only with the intent to incite fear, alarm, hatred, or the possibility of a religious conflict. "The state public prosecutor stated that this is a suitable case for sanctioning prosecution against Annamalai under section 196 CrPC, citing the pertinent provisions of 120-A, 153, 153-A, and 505 of IPC," the GO stated.
The Government has given approval for Annamalai's prosecution for the offences covered by sections 153-A (intention to cause riot) and 505 (promoting enmity) of the Indian Penal Code, taking into account the viewpoint and the intention to foster discord, feelings of enmity, hatred, and ill-will between different religions, according to the GO.
In the past few years, the country has seen a phenomenal rise in hate speeches cutting across political and religious lines. India does not have a specific law that defines hate speech, there are select legal provisions or sections in the law that prohibits speech, text or any publication that incites hatred between any community and groups.
Based on the information provided in the National Crime Records Bureau’s (NCRB) Crime in India (CII) report, there has been a six-fold increase in hate speech crime in the country. While 2014 (323 cases) saw the least number of cases in the seven years, the year 2020, with 1,804 cases, saw the highest. Tamil Nadu had the highest number of cases (303), followed by Uttar Pradesh (243), Telangana (151), Assam (147) and Andhra Pradesh (142).
If we take a look at cases filed under Section 153B (imputations, assertions prejudicial to national integration), we can see a six-fold increase from 13 in 2014 to 82 in 2020. Although cases filed under IPC Section 295-297 (insults against the religious beliefs of an individual or community) saw an overall decrease by 3.2 percent. However, there was a 16.5 percent increase in these cases in the last year – from 1,459 in 2019 to 1,749 in 2020. Cases registered under Section 505 (which deals with hateful publication) increased almost six times in four years – 257 cases in 2017 to 1,527 in 2020.
Apart from the increase in the new cases, the number of pending cases with the police has also gradually increased. In 2016, a total of 903 cases were pending trial in courts, which further increased to 2736 by the end of 2020. The conviction rate of cases under Section 153 was as low as 20 percent in the five years between 2016 and 2020. In 2016, 15.3 percent of cases ended in convictions, while in 2020, the conviction rate had risen to 20.4 percent.
Hate speech has been a problem in India for decades. But the scale of the problem has accelerated in recent years, with Indians being regularly bombarded with hateful speech and polarising content. The issue of hate speech has often come up before India's courts. But the judiciary has mostly been wary of imposing restrictions on free speech. In 2014, while hearing a petition which asked the Supreme Court to issue guidelines to curb hate speeches made by political and religious leaders, the court recognised the adverse impact these could have on people but refused to go beyond the scope of existing laws.
The Supreme Court on April 28, 2023 directed the states to suo moto register FIRs on the incidents of hate speech and proceed against the violators without waiting for someone to lodge a complaint. A bench comprising of Justice KM Joseph and BV Nagarathna ruled that all hate speech makers, regardless of their religion, would be subject to the court's order. The court emphasised the need to safeguard the country's secular nature. The court went so far as to highlight the precise criminal statutes that should be used to prosecute hate speech offenders. They are found in the Indian Penal Code (IPC) Sections 295A (deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings) and 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on the basis of religion), 153B (imputations, assertions prejudicial to national integration) and 505 (public mischief).
The highest court further stated that hate speech is "capable of affecting the secular fabric of the country" after labelling it a serious violation.
In an attempt to limit and deal with the hate speech, the government has introduced a new bill in the monsoon session of the parliament which brings major changes in the Indian Penal Code, Code of Criminal Procedure and the Indian Evidence Act. The IPC is expected to be replaced by the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita. The newly presented law in Parliament calls for penalty for spoken, written, or displayed signs that offend people's religious sensibilities. A one-year prison sentence has also been established for people who intentionally use language to offend someone's religious sensibilities.
The MP Bezbaruah Committee, the TK Vishwanathan Panel, and the Law Commission had all advocated adding hate speech as a separate offence to the statute, which is what the current bill now aims to do. The law that addresses religious offences also suggests a prison sentence of up to two years for anyone who damages or destroys an item that is considered sacred by a group of people. Separately, the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita has suggested up to three years in prison for those who publish or spread remarks, inaccurate information, or reports that incite religious, regional, caste, or communal hatred.
