Ensure freedom of expression does not hurt religious feelings, Madras HC tells State government

The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court has set aside the closure of a case registered by the Thoothukudi police over a social media post disrespecting Lord Krishna.

Justice K. Murali Shankar observed, “Depicting Hindu Gods in a disrespectful manner, intentionally hurting the sentiments of millions, cannot be justified. Such actions have the potential to spark enmity, religious outrage, social disorder, and undermine communal harmony”.

The court said: “Given the deep-rooted respect for religious symbols and deities, disrespect can lead to social unrest and hurt a large section of society. Therefore, it is crucial to approach such depictions with sensitivity. The government must ensure freedom of expression does not translate into hurting religious feelings.”

The court was hearing a criminal revision petition filed by P. Paramasivan. The petitioner had lodged a complaint alleging that one Sathish Kumar posted a photo of Lord Krishna along with disrespectful comments on social media. He stated that he was deeply hurt by the misrepresented photo, which caused him significant mental anguish. He alleged that Sathish Kumar had posted the photo and comments with an intention of defaming Hindu Gods, damaging the image of Hindu women, and potentially creating a law and order problem by promoting enmity between different groups on religious grounds.

On the basis of the complaint, an FIR was registered. Subsequently, the police filed a final report before Judicial Magistrate IV, Thoothukudi, as ‘undetected’. Accepting the final report, the case was closed with liberty to file a private complaint. Challenging the same, the criminal revision petition was filed.

Justice Murali Shankar observed that the police’s final report and the order passed by the Judicial Magistrate accepting it and closing the FIR could not be sustained legally. While the investigating officer identified the post’s potential to create law and order issues and disturb communal harmony, the investigation was not pursued diligently, and the final report appeared to have been filed mechanically, the court observed.

Despite the seriousness of the allegations, the police handled the case casually. “Given these circumstances, the court finds it necessary to direct the police to continue and complete the investigation within a stipulated period,” the judge observed, and directed the police to complete the investigation and file a final report in three months.