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Ban on Free Expression – The Implications

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October 16, 2017

What in news?

Supreme Court recently upheld the ban on “Basava Vachana Deepthi”.

How did the issue evolve?

  • Maate Mahadevi’s book “Basava Vachana Deepthi”, was banned by the Karnataka government in 1998 as the contents were thought to hurt religious sentiments of ‘Veera Shaivas’.
  • The government had then invoked Section 95 of CrPC – that allows for the suspension of publications on certain grounds.
  • The book had allegedly changed the original words in Lord Basaveshwara’s “Vachanas” to suit the author’s world view.

What are its Implications?

  • The current verdict is a victory for intolerant attitudes.
  • This also implies that expressions deserve protection only when it raises no opposition.
  • Religious passion has effectively been exempted from the regular mandates of democracy.
  • It also highlights the fact that governments in India can ban books with ease as once Section 95 is invoked - the onus is on the author to disprove it in courts.

What is needed?

  • For a book to be banned, it should be established beyond doubt that – “book attempts to insult religious beliefs with definitive hateful intentions”.
  • In a just & tolerant society, the courts are expected to take the narrowest possible reading into laws seeking an outright ban.
  • The preservation of individual autonomy is an essential requirement of a legitimate government.
  • The court must therefore recognise that the right to freedom of speech is a liberty central to achieving an equal society.

 

Source: The Hindu

 

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