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Scroll.in
20-07-2025
- Politics
- Scroll.in
Why the Supreme Court's new push to regulate social media threatens free expression
This week, three separate benches of the Supreme Court spoke of restricting freedom of speech on social media. On Monday, a bench of Justices BV Nagarathna and Justice KV Viswanathan was hearing a petition by Kolkata-based Wazahat Khan seeking the consolidation of first information reports registered against him in Assam, Maharashtra, Delhi and Haryana over his social media posts. In his posts, Khan had made allegedly offensive remarks about Hindu deities and festivals. Since last month, he has been under arrest for the posts by the West Bengal Police. The bench continued the interim protection the court had granted Khan from arrest in the cases registered outside Bengal. But during the hearing, Nagarathna called for citizens to 'regulate themselves' on social media and exercise 'self restraint … to enjoy' the right to free speech and expression. She noted that the 'abuse of that freedom' was leading to the 'clogging of courts' – without providing any data to support this claim. She then called for 'guidelines to be issued to the citizens to comply'. Over Monday and Tuesday, another bench of the court comprising Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and Arvind Kumar heard an anticipatory bail plea by Indore-based cartoonist Hemant Malviya. Malviya had been booked in May for hurting religious sentiments. His offence? Posting on social media a cartoon he had made in 2021 depicting a satirical situation featuring Prime Minister Narendra Modi and a man dressed in what may appear to some as the uniform of the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh, the parent organisation of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party. Earlier this month, the Madhya Pradesh High Court had not only rejected his application for anticipatory bail but also called for his arrest. The bench of Dhulia and Kumar granted Malviya interim protection from arrest. However, it called his cartoons 'inflammatory', 'immature' and 'offensive'. Describing this as a widespread problem, Dhulia said on Tuesday that the court would 'have to do something on this', adding that 'there should be a test', presumably about what may be permitted to be posted online. That same day, a bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi heard three petitions that it was hearing together. Two of the petitions were by YouTubers Ranveer Allahbadia and Ashish Chanchlani to club the FIRs filed against them in parts of the country and one by charitable organisation SMA Cure Foundation against comedians Samay Raina, Vipun Goyal, Balraj Paramjeet Singh Ghai, Sonali Thakkar and Nishant Jagdish Tanwar for making jokes about persons with disabilities. During the hearing, Kant told the attorney general that any guidelines framed by the government to regulate online content must 'balance' freedoms and duties. To be clear, under India's constitutional framework, fundamental duties are not grounds to restrict the freedom of speech and expression – or any other fundamental right. In February, while hearing Allahbadia's petition, Kant had first nudged the government to regulate obscene content on YouTube and said that the court 'would like to do something' and not 'leave this vacuum'. Each of these cases illustrates judicial overreach. In none of these cases had the parties sought regulations on online speech. Ideally, the court would have restricted itself to the actual subject of the petitions and adjudicated on them. Instead, it went into the tone and tenor of specific items of online content – not whether these constituted criminal offences – and has called for an online censorship regime. This trend does not bode well for free speech in India. It has revived the Union government's efforts to push for a sweeping Broadcasting Bill. Last year, it had mooted such a bill ahead of the Lok Sabha elections but withdrew it in August amid allegations by news associations and civil society organisations that it impinged on free speech online. It also leads to the right to free speech being circumscribed by public outrage and the sensibilities of judges. The Supreme Court, and all other courts, would do well to remember the judgement delivered in March by a bench comprising Justices AS Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan. Quashing an FIR registered against Congress MP Imran Pratapgarhi for an Instagram post, the judgement, written by Oka, said: 'Sometimes, we, the judges, may not like spoken or written words. But, still, it is our duty to uphold the fundamental right under Article 19 (1)(a).' Here is a summary of the week's top stories. Opposition leader's son held. The Enforcement Directorate arrested Chaitanya Baghel, the son of Chhattisgarh's former Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, in a liquor scam case. The action came after the central agency conducted searches at their home in Durg district. The agency has alleged that a syndicate of officials, politicians and others ensured a state-run firm bought liquor only from select distributors who paid a commission. This action, the authorities alleged, resulted in over Rs 2,000 crore being diverted from the state exchequer between 2019 and 2022. Chaitanya Baghel received the proceeds of crime generated from the bootlegging of alcohol, claimed the Enforcement Directorate. Bhupesh Baghel claimed on Friday that the agency's action was an attempt to stop him from asking questions in the Assembly about the trees being allegedly felled by the Adani Group. Respite for Indian nurse. Yemeni authorities agreed to postpone the execution of Malayali nurse Nimisha Priya, which had been scheduled for Wednesday. No new date has been announced. This came a day after the Union government told the Indian Supreme Court that it could not do much more to prevent the action. Hailing from Kerala's Palakkad, Priya was imprisoned in Yemen for the alleged murder of Yemeni citizen Talal Abdo Mehdi in July 2017. In 2020, Priya had been sentenced to death by a trial court in the Yemeni capital Sanaa. On December 30, news reports claimed that Rashad al-Alimi, the chairperson of Yemen's Presidential Leadership Council, had approved the sentence. Assam eviction drive turns violent. A 19-year-old was killed and several injured after the Assam Police opened fire at protesters amid clashes at the site of an eviction drive in the Betbari area of Goalpara district. At least two police personnel were among the injured. Ten persons were arrested in connection with the violence. Authorities had cleared 140 hectares of land in the Paikan Reserve Forest on Saturday, displacing 1,080 families, most of whom were Muslims of Bengali origin. Since then, the displaced families have been living in tents and tarpaulin huts, which officials had asked them to dismantle. The clashes broke out on Thursday after authorities dug up the road that provided connectivity to the settlement. The state blames the police. Karnataka Police officers acted like 'servants' of the Indian Premier League team Royal Challengers Bengaluru, the state government told the High Court hearing the case about the stampede outside Bengaluru's Chinnaswamy Stadium. Eleven persons were killed during the stampede on June 4. The state government also told the court that police officers had started making arrangements for celebrations after the team's victory in the league without ascertaining who had permitted the event. Further, the government claimed that the cricket team had submitted an application proposing a celebration even before the final match. The government defended the suspension of Additional Commissioner of Police Vikash Kumar Vikash, accusing him of failing to do his duty and causing 'public embarrassment'.
Hindustan Times
30-06-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Complaint filed against RSS general secretary Hosabale over Preamble remarks
A police complaint has been filed against Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh general secretary Dattatreya Hosabale, accusing him of making 'unconstitutional, inflammatory and divisive' comments and seeking legal action against him. RSS general secretary Dattatreya Hosabale stoked a political controversy last week over his comments on the Preamble of the Constitution (PTI) The complaint, filed by members of the Karnataka legal cell of the Indian Youth Congress, said that Hosabale's recent comments seeking to remove the terms 'socialist' and 'secular' from the Preamble of the Indian Constitution were an 'attack on the constitutional ethos' and an 'incitement against the nation's founding values'. The complaint was filed at the Seshadripuram Police Station in Bengaluru on Sunday. While the police acknowledged the receipt of the complaint, no FIR was filed till the time of going to print. 'I am filing this complaint in the interest of protecting the sanctity of the Constitution of India and preserving public order and constitutional values as a dutiful citizen of India,' the complainant, Shreedhar MM, a representative of the Youth Congress, said. 'These remarks are not just ideational commentary. They are deliberate, provocative, and dangerous.' The complaint said that Hosabale's speech violated several provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and amounted to 'an attempt to marginalize religious communities and promote disharmony'. 'These are not protected political speech,' the complainant wrote. 'They are an incitement to constitutional subversion and fall within the purview of cognizable criminal offenses.' The RSS leader stoked a political controversy last week, when, speaking at an event in Delhi on Thursday, he said, 'During the Emergency, two words, secular and socialist, were added to the Constitution, which were not part of the original Preamble. Later, these words were not removed. Should they remain or not… a debate must happen on this. These two words were not in Dr Ambedkar's Constitution. During the Emergency, the country had no functioning Parliament, no rights, no judiciary and yet these two words were added.' The changes were among those made in the contentious 42nd Amendment, passed in 1976. Citing his speech, the Congress workers sought legal action against Hosabale. 'Such attempts to publicly erode constitutional values must be treated with utmost seriousness and urgency,' the complainant added. 'A clear message must be sent that no one is above the Constitution.'
The Hindu
26-06-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
‘Secularism' and ‘socialism' not part of Preamble drafted by Ambedkar, must be reviewed: RSS
Noting that 'secularism' and 'socialism' were not part of the Preamble of the Constitution as drafted by B.R. Ambedkar, Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh general secretary Dattatreya Hosabale on Thursday (June 26, 2025) called for the later inclusion of these terms to be reviewed. Mr. Hosabale was speaking at an event to mark the 50th year since the Emergency, at which he also asked the Congress party to apologise to the nation for the 'draconian act'. Discussing the 'several injustices' propagated against the people during the Emergency by the Congress government of that time, the RSS leader said that over one lakh people were sent to jail, including 250 journalists. The government of that time violated fundamental rights in multiple ways including the forceful sterilisation of over 60 lakh people, he added. 'Is socialism eternal for India?' 'Freedom of judiciary was also curtailed... but one more thing. Two words — that are, secularism and socialism — were added in the Preamble of the Indian Constitution during the Emergency. These two words were not there in the Preamble before. Preamble is eternal to the nation, but are the views and values of socialism, in terms of ideology, eternal for India?' he asked. The word 'secularism' was not originally in the Indian Constitution, he emphasised. 'Yes, the ideas of secularism may have existed, they may have been part of governance and state policy — that's a different matter. But should these two words remain in the Preamble? This is something that deserves a review,' he said. Added during Emergency Mr Hosabale cautioned the audience that, when the Constitution is discussed at present, it is not just about Ambedkar's Constitution, but also includes later additions. 'Because I know — and I'm saying this while standing in the building named after Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar, the architect of our Constitution —that these words were not included by him. These words were added during the Emergency when citizens' rights were suspended, when Parliament was ineffective, when the judiciary was crippled. At that time, this was inserted,' he said. Mocking Congress leader Rahul Gandhi without naming him, Mr. Hosabale said that it was his ancestors who had shattered the Constitution, but now he protests in the Parliament with copies of the same Constitution in his hand.
The Hindu
23-06-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Global politics dictated by realism and self-interest and not solidarity: V-P Jaideep Dhankhar
Hailing V.D. Savarkar as a 'celebrated thinker who stood against the post-war order', Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Monday (June 23, 2025) argued that global politics is dictated by realism and self-interest and not morality or solidarity. Citing the present global scenario, Mr. Dhankhar called for a shift in India's foreign policy imagination and added that this was the right time to move beyond 'romanticism' and focus on economic and strategic strength. Speaking at the launch of a book written by senior Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) leader Ram Madhav titled New World: 21st Century Global Order in India, the Vice-President warned that enemies of the country are not just outside but also within, and that some forces are determined to make the lives of Indians difficult, even by dividing people on issues like language. 'These sinister forces, pernicious to our interests, want to strike by dividing us on issues like language. Which country in the world can take pride in language richness as Bharat? Look at our classical languages, their number. In Parliament, 22 such languages allow and afford the opportunity to anyone expressing their views in them. It would require many such thinkers to come together and debate and discuss challenges and opportunities and aid policymakers in making right strategic choices,' he said. Comparing the book and Sarvarkar's ideology, Mr. Dhankhar said he felt the imprints of Savarkar in the author's thoughts. 'Savarkar, despite all the untenable misgivings in extremity, remains a celebrated thinker who stood at the wee hours of the post-war order. He was staunch realist and believed in a post-war world where nations would act only in pursuit of their own interests not based on idealism, morality or international solidarity. Imagine how prophetic he has been,' said the Vice-President as he asked the audience to look at the present times where the world saw wars and destruction. Praising the Narendra Modi government at the Centre for its diplomacy, Mr. Dhankhar said that the new India is steadfast, firm, non-negotiable, and notwithstanding the critics — is spinally strong. 'I could not agree more with lamentations of the author Ram Madhav. He highlights a perpetual decline of global multilateralism and prescribes India to give up romanticism and focus on economic growth', he said adding that similar thoughts were also mooted by Sarvarkar. Speaking to the media at his book launch, Mr. Madhav said that his book focuses on the world shifting from the liberal international order formed post World War II. He said that it is high time that India reorient its strategy to keep pace. Citing China as a powerful growing nation, he also gave example how Turkiye turned out to be a powerful factor during recent Indo-Pakistan military conflict. 'In our recent clash with Pakistan, we not only talked about Pakistan but also about Turkey. So the realisation is Turkey is also a power today,' he said, adding that the wars are now being fought in unconventional ways where no army faced each other. 'In such situations, India has to re-strategise its whole future trajectory… That means doing some very important things and becoming a very proactive participant in this new order,' he said. Replying to a question on Congress's allegations that India is not doing enough for its old friend Iran amid the war concerns, Mr. Madhav added that international diplomacy must now be grounded in national interest, not ideological loyalty. 'In politics and diplomacy, there are no permanent friends and no permanent foes… That was a romantic approach of the past. There are only permanent interests.' He also emphasised India's message to global institutions, saying, 'India has told the UN [United Nations] leadership that you are not delivering… you are failing. If you fail, we have to look for other ways… other countries will have to come forward.' Underscoring New Delhi's diplomatic posturing amid global conflicts, Mr. Madhav said: 'India is not taking sides, India is fighting—or is working—for peace.' Congress MP Manish Tewari, speaking at the event, highlighted global volatility. 'The Russia-Ukraine war, the Israel-Hamas-Hezbollah-Houthi-Iran conflict, the India-Pakistan standoff, and now the U.S. bombing of Iran — we are looking at a world in a flux,' he said. 'Modern strategic thought is essentially a European construct…'
The Hindu
20-06-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Pressure of parents can deter schools to do exorbitant fee hike, says RSS education wing
'Parents must keep a check on the quality of education in the schools they choose for their children; their pressure can deter schools from doing an exorbitant fee hike,' said Ravindra Kanhere, national president of Vidya Bharati, an affiliate of the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh. Mr. Kanhere's statement came at a time when reports of protests by parents of school students are making headlines from different states across India who complaint about exorbitant fees being charged by the private schools. In Delhi too, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government under the leadership of chief minister Rekha Gupta, earlier this month had approved an ordinance based on the proposed Delhi School Education (Transparency in Fixation and Regulation of Fees) Bill, 2025. the ordinance came after a private school in the capital had strike off the \student names from its rolls for not paying the increased fees. The state government had also sent inspection teams to the school, after which DoE issued an order regarding reinstatement. Answering a question on inaction of state governments at in regulating the fees of private schools, Mr. Kanhere said that deciding fees of schools is prerogative of government. 'But because you have raised the point of fee hikes in private schools, I was to tell you that there is a system in states that 10% fee hike can be done through the committee which is headed by the district collector. If the fees have to be raised more than 10% than there is a state government committee at state level. This is a general practice in many states,' he said. He added that the parents should check the quality of education in schools in which their wards are studying. 'Pressure of parents can deter schools to do exorbitant fee hike,' he added Speaking on the controversy related to language in the New Education Policy (NEP), Mr. Kanhere said that all the states are free to choose any three of the 22 Indian languages prescribed under the policy. He dismissed the Tamil Nadu Government's charge of imposition of Hindi by the Centre and added that a child is free to study any southern language if he from South. 'If someone in the South is learning Tamil, he can also learn Malayalam or any other language… All Indian languages have been listed, and they have been asked to choose from them. Similarly, when it comes to the third language, it can be English, Japanese, Korean or Mandarin also,' he added. Commenting on the controversy of NCERT books removing the usage of Babri mosque in chapters related to Ayodhya's Ram temple, Mr. Kanhere said that 'misleading facts' must be erased from the textbooks. 'We should write historical facts only. But we have seen over the years that some or other misleading facts are being included in the books. If they are being removed, nothing wrong in doing so,' he added. Speaking about the expansion of Vidhya Bharti, he said that the organisation had opened its first school in Uttar Pradesh's Gorakhpur district in 1952 and is currently running 12,118 schools including 14 Sainik Schools in 684 districts across India. The organisation is also running over 8,000 non-formal educational centres across the country to support the marginalised sections of the society and about 10,000 'Shishu Vatikas' to provide early childhood education to children. 'Collectively, more than 35.33 lakh students are currently enrolled in Vidya Bharati schools under the able guidance of more than 1.53 lakh teachers,' he added.
