‘People have become more sensitive about religions’: HC quashes FIR over WhatsApp chat
Quashing a case against two men accused of hurting religious sentiments on a WhatsApp group, the Bombay High Court on Wednesday remarked that people have become more sensitive about religion nowadays.
“We are constrained to observe that nowadays people have become more sensitive about their religions maybe than before and everybody wants to impress as to how his religion/God is Supreme,” the HC said.
As WhatsApp messages are encrypted and cannot be accessed by a third person, it should be seen whether they can have the effect of outraging religious feelings as contemplated under the Indian Penal Code, the Nagpur bench of the court said in its ruling.
The court observed that India is a secular and democratic country where everyone is required to respect the religion and castes of others. However, people should avoid a knee-jerk reaction, it added.
A division bench of Justices Vibha Kankanwadi and Vrushali Joshi quashed a 2017 FIR registered against an army soldier and a medical practitioner for outraging religious sentiments.
According to PTI, Shahbaz Siddiqui, the complainant had said that armyman Pramod Shendre and medical practitioner Subhash Waghe had posted offensive messages against the Muslim community on a WhatsApp group. The complainant was also a member of the group.
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Per the complaint, the accused made derogatory remarks against Prophet Mohammad and said those from the community who refused to chant Vande Mataram should move to Pakistan.
The bench quashed the FIR and the police’s chargesheet, saying the WhatsApp chats were end-to-end encrypted and the messages posted in the group could not have been seen by any person who was not a member.
“We are staying in a democratic secular country, where everybody should respect the religion, caste, creed etc. of another. But at the same time, we would also say that if the person says that his religion is Supreme, then the other person may not immediately react,” the bench added.
The bench noted that the police should be able to prove that the alleged insult was made with a deliberate and malicious intention to outrage religious feelings. It should be seen if a chat in a WhatsApp group has the effect of outraging religious feelings or attempting to outrage religious feelings, it added.
With inputs from PTI
