Clarifying that well researched opinions on religions or gods cannot be construed as either derogatory or against religious sentiments causing disharmony between various sects of people, the Madras High Court on Friday granted bail to R Kalyanaraman, who was arrested and remanded in judicial custody for allegedly posting his opinion on social media about Prophet Mohammed.
Madras High Court
Chennai:
Holding that it is one thing to make reckless and derogatory remarks against religious beliefs and it is entirely another thing to express the opinion after reading the entire literature/ history of various characters who are revered as god or goddess in this society, Justice N Anand Venkatesh said, “Freedom of expression always gets challenged when it touches upon religious beliefs. But not every expression will qualify itself to bring disharmony between various sects or group.”
“This court has categorically held that there is always a presumption in favour of free speech and expression unless it falls within the domain of reasonable restrictions under Article 19(2) of the Constitution”, the judge added.
During the hearing, senior counsel S Prabakaran appearing for Kalyanaraman submitted that the entire reading of the content would show his understanding of the entire history of Prophet Mohammed and has not per se abused or made slanderous remarks about the Prophet.
Opposing the plea, the additional public prosecutor submitted that the petitioner had been already arrested for such offence and was let out on bail after he undertook not to post such messages in social media.
However, he is continuously involving in such activities and thereby endangering peace and harmony in the society, the prosecutor added.
However, Justice Venkatesh in his order held, “a careful reading of the entire article that has been published by the petitioner only reveals the understanding of this petitioner about the history of Prophet Mohammed. This petitioner has not straight away made any derogatory remarks against the Prophet. He has only expressed the way he had understood the history about the Prophet and his family.”
Says public space must be a market place of fertile and refreshing ideas and not a cacophony of abuses and incendiary speeches
MADURAI
Answering whether free speech can be denied, even though it can be regulated, the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court recently held: ‘This is a land of free speech and that requires no emphasis.” The court was hearing a petition seeking permission for holding a public meeting.
The court asked the authorities to consider the representation and grant permission. In the last couple of years, the High Court Bench has seen a large number of petitions seeking direction to the authorities to consider their plea for conducting events. Though time and again the court has urged the authorities concerned to consider the plea themselves and grant permission, the rejections are made in the name of public order. Reacting on the rejection order, in a particular case, the court said it reflected the anxiety of the authorities that if permission is accorded, it might be misused. “There cannot be freedom of speech if there is no freedom of thought and conscience, and they do not thrive where equality does not prevail,” the court observed.
Advocate L. Shaji Chellan said, “The authorities can regulate the conduct of the meeting instead of denying permission outright, thereby curtailing a citizen’s right. It also applies to traditional sports. Permission can be granted based on existing orders. However, organisers are being made to approach the court.”
Advocate S. Vanchinathan said, “Any voice against the government is curtailed. Dissenting views are opposed. Thoothukudi incident is one such example.”
The court also puts the onus on the organisers to act responsibly. “The Constitutional rights find its pair with the Constitutional duties. He who is conscious of his Constitutionally guaranteed right and demands it should also be prepared to submit to performing the Constitutional right that goes with it,” the court said.
“If Constitutionalism is to survive, it is not just the responsibility of the State but that of every citizen to carry the spirit in his heart and soul. For a citizen to exercise his right under the Constitution responsibly, he need not look to the State, for he owes his existence not to the mercy of the State, but to the might of the Constitution,” the court said.
Advocate S. Srinivasa Raghavan said these petitions do add to the burden of the court. “The executive is refusing to take responsibility. It does not want to be blamed if anything goes wrong. Once it comes before the court, they act on the direction, thereby the burden is passed on to the court.”
However, police sources said: “Since a large number of people seek permission for conducting public meeting, they must be scrutinised carefully. We have to look into each representation or application made and the larger interest of the public also has to be taken into consideration. The rejections are largely made only after considering the law and order situation. Public order cannot be put at stake.”
The court has made it mandatory for the organisers, henceforth, to give a written undertaking to the authorities that they will take responsibility that none of the speakers while exercising their Right of Free Speech and Expression will violate the provisions under the Constitution. No picture, cartoon or caricature, poster or any form of visual depiction of any religious symbol or image be used that can hurt the religious sentiments of people nor anything banned under law put up at the venue.
The court observed that the public space ought to be a market place of fertile and refreshing socio-political and economic ideas and not a cacophony of abuses and incendiary speeches. Constitutional duties may not be enforceable, yet cannot be ignored. “....it becomes the responsibility of every citizen to protect the constitution, not in fear of any State regulations, but in respect for the Constitution, and in the realisation of this responsibility.”
Organisers of conventions, congregations and other religious meets should henceforth give written undertakings to government officials concerned assuring them that the events would not be used to deliver speeches offending or denigrating any other religion, faith, mode of worship or other practices associated with it, the Madras High Court has ordered.
Justice N. Seshasayee passed the order at the Madurai Bench of the High Court on Thursday after observing that the secular ethos which overflow from the Constitution provide the citizens neither a “freeway” to profess, practise or propagate one’s religion and faith nor any open space for demonstrating the domination of one religion over the other.
Disposing of a plea seeking permission for a religious convention in Kanniyakumari district, the judge said, ordinarily while dealing with such cases, the court merely directs the authority concerned to consider the requests made by the petitioners. And therefore, in the present case too, he did not want any variance to the general norm adopted by the court.
“However, this court senses an urgent need to infuse responsibility among active practitioners of every religion to ensure that they hold their religious meetings... without breaching the constitutional spirit of secularism, for not everyone seems to take it seriously. While the courts stay neutral, they still do not blindfold themselves to the happenings around.
“Equality of religion is primarily an aspect internal to the intellect and in a mature society it transcends to shape the attitude of men. Sadly, on display are sporadic instances when every religious group competes to dominate with shameless quest its supremacy over the other. The Constitution has secured to everyone to praise their religion, but not to abuse another.
“Free speech cannot include hate speech, and if this difference is to be maintained, then responsibility attached to free speech should not be forgotten. When the constitutional responsibility associated with equality of freedom of religion is eroded, and when executive responses are disproportionate to the rate of such degradation, it then becomes the responsibility of the court to step in,” the judge observed.
Public order
Extracting Article 25(1) of the Constitution in his order, he said, a reading of the provision would make it abundantly clear that the framers of the supreme law of the land had not rushed to declare the fundamental right to profess, practice and propagate a religion but had introduced a rider restricting the right, subject to public order, morality and health.
“The preamble to the Constitution prides itself to constitute this nation into a secular republic. However, without establishing equality in the conscience of the citizens, that may be a distant dream. And, at the ground level it can reduce public order that concerns both Articles 25(1) and 19(2) of the Constitution into empty expressions.
“Equality is the fountainhead of secularism and the bedrock of public order and tranquillity. If we, the people, should have concern for secularism, then equality of religions must be let to occupy the consciousness of every religious group since secular values cannot exist without respect to equality,” Justice Seshasayee added.
Preserve equality and it would protect secularism should be the mantra, he said and went on to state that if equality was disturbed, then it would impinge on the freedom of conscience guaranteed to all citizens of the country alike as held by the Supreme Court in the famous Rev. Stanislaus versus State of Madhya Pradesh case in 1977.
மத நம்பிக்கைகளால் கருத்து சுதந்திரத்திற்கு சவால் - உயர் நீதிமன்றம்
முகமது நபிகள் பற்றி முகநூலில் அவதூறு கருத்து பதிவிட்டதாக கைது செய்யப்பட்ட பா.ஜ.க. நிர்வாகி கல்யாணராமன் என்பவருக்கு ஜாமீன் வழங்கிய சென்னை உயர் நீதிமன்றம் உத்தரவிட்டுள்ளது.
மத நம்பிக்கைகளை தொட்டு கருத்துக்கள் தெரிவிக்கும் போதெல்லாம், கருத்து சுதந்திரம் சவாலை எதிர்கொள்கிறது என சென்னை உயர் நீதிமன்றம் தெரிவித்துள்ளது.
முகமது நபிகள் பற்றி முகநூலில் அவதூறு கருத்து பதிவிட்டதாக கைது செய்யப்பட்ட பா.ஜ.க. நிர்வாகி கல்யாணராமன் என்பவருக்கு ஜாமின் வழங்கிய சென்னை உயர் நீதிமன்றம் இக்கருத்தை தெரிவித்துள்ளது.
கல்யாணராமன் தாக்கல் செய்த ஜாமின் மனுவை விசாரித்த நீதிபதி ஆனந்த் வெங்கடேஷ், குறிப்பிட்ட ஒரு மதத்துக்கு எதிராக ஆதாரமற்ற அவதூறு கருத்துக்களை தெரிவிப்பது வேறு எனவும், மதத்தில் கடவுள்களாக வழிபடக் கூடியவர்களின் வாழ்க்கையை முழுமையாக படித்து, அதை பதிவிடுவது வேறு எனவும், அது அவதூறாகாது எனவும் தெரிவித்துள்ளார்.
கல்யாணராமன், நபிகள் நாயகத்தின் வாழ்க்கையை படித்து, தன் புரிதலை பதிவிட்டுள்ளாரே தவிர அவதூறு கருத்து எதையும் பதிவிடவில்லை எனக் கூறி, அவருக்கு ஜாமின் வழங்கி நீதிபதி உத்தரவிட்டுள்ளார்.