The Bombay High Court has refused to quash an FIR (first information report) against a professor for putting up a WhatsApp status about Article 370, which ended the special status of Jammu and Kashmir. The professor, Javed Ahmed Hajam, had put up the status during the period between August 13 and 15, 2022, which said ‘August 5 Black Day Jammu & Kashmir’ with a message below saying ‘Article 370 was abrogated, we are not happy’ and ’14th August Happy Independence Day Pakistan’. The FIR was filed by the Hatkanangale police station in Maharashtra’s Kolhapur district under section 153 A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for promoting enmity. The high court dismissed Hajam’s petition seeking to quash the FIR and observed that any critical or dissenting views that stir up emotions of different groups of people must be expressed only after proper analysis of the situation and backed with reasoning.Section 153A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) deals with promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc. According to the court, wishing Pakistan a Happy Independence Day did not fall under this section because it did not promote enmity between different groups. The court reasoned that celebrating the independence of other countries, without denouncing the celebration of one’s own country, is a reasonable and innocent act that does not promote hatred or enmity.
The court’s decision suggests that expressing happiness for the independence of another country, even if it is a neighboring country with a complicated political history, is not necessarily a crime under Indian law. However, it is important to note that this decision was made in a specific context and should not be seen as a blanket protection for all speech related to other countries. The courts will continue to analyze such cases on a case-by-case basis, taking into account the specific facts and circumstances of each case.
