People have become more sensitive about religion, says Bombay HC; quashes case over WhatsApp message

Mumbai: People have become more sensitive about religion nowadays, the Bombay High Court said on Wednesday as it quashed a case against two persons for allegedly hurting religious sentiments on a WhatsApp group.

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.

India is a secular and democratic country where everybody should respect others' religions and castes, and at the same time the people should avoid a knee-jerk reaction, it said.

A division bench of Justices Vibha Kankanwadi and Vrushali Joshi quashed a 2017 First Information Report registered against an army soldier and a medical practitioner for outraging religious sentiments, intentional insult to breach public order, and criminal intimidation.

Complainant Shahbaz Siddiqui had accused armyan Pramod Shendre and medical practitioner Subhash Waghe of posting offensive messages against the Muslim community on a WhatsApp group. Siddiqui was also a member of the group.

The accused raised questions about Prophet Mohammad and said the Muslims who refuse to say 'Vande Mataram' should go to Pakistan, he claimed in his complaint.

The bench, while setting aside the FIR and charge sheet filed by the police, said as WhatsApp chats are end-to-end encrypted, the messages posted in the group could not have been seen by any person who was not a member.

"We are constrained to observe that nowadays people have become more sensitive about their religions may be than before and everybody wants to impress as to how his religion/God is Supreme," the HC said.

"We are staying in the 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. There are ways and means to react on such sensitive issues," the court said.

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 attempt to outrage religious feelings as contemplated under section 295A of the Indian Penal Code, the HC said.

The group in question, named 'Narkhed Ghadamodi' (Narkhed news) comprised around 150 to 200 persons from both Hindu and Muslim communities.

"We can foresee that when political issues are discussed, then it will definitely give heated exchange of thoughts and there would be fire-works," the bench said.

The police failed to identify the administrator of the group, but "adopted a pick and choose method" and recorded the statements of only four Muslim members, the HC said.

"We do not find that even a prima facie case is made out against the applicants. It would be unjust to ask both the applicants to face the trial," the court said.