New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled that referring to someone as ‘Miyan-Tiyan’ or ‘Pakistani’ may be distasteful but does not constitute an offence of hurting religious sentiments.
A bench of Justices BV Nagarathna and Satish Chandra Sharma made this observation while dismissing a case against a man accused of calling a government official ‘Pakistani’.
The complaint was filed by an Urdu translator and acting clerk in Jharkhand, who alleged that the accused insulted him based on his religion while he was providing information about a Right to Information (RTI) application. The complainant also claimed that the accused used abusive language and obstructed him from carrying out his official duties.
As a result, a First Information Report (FIR) was lodged under sections 298 (hurting religious sentiments), 504 (intentional insult to provoke breach of peace), and 353 (use of criminal force to deter a public servant from duty) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
However, overturning a Jharkhand High Court order, the Supreme Court stated that while the remarks were inappropriate, they did not amount to hurting religious sentiments.
