Hate Speech

Hate Speech

News: According to the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), a total of 107 Members of Parliament (MPs) and Members of Legislative Assemblies (MLAs) in India have hate speech cases against them.

What is Hate Speech?
• According to Law commission report, hate speech is an incitement to hatred primarily against a group of persons in terms of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, religious belief and the like.
• There is no specific legal definition of Hate speech in India.
 

Legislations around Hate speech
• Constitutional Provisions – Article 19(2) gives all the citizens right to Freedom of speech and expression but subject to ‘reasonable restrictions for preserving inter ‘alia’ public order, decency or morality’
• Representation of People Act, 1951 – Section 8 disqualifies a person from contesting election if he is convicted for indulging in acts amounting to illegitimate use of freedom of speech and expression.
• Section 295A of the IPC - It defines and prescribes a punishment for deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs.
• Section 153A - Section 153A penalises promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc, and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony.

How can we tackle Hate speech?
• The government has proposed specific provisions to deal with hate speech, with the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita seeking to punish such offences related to religion with up to three years in jail and a fine.
• Implement Robust code of conduct is essential for media agencies like Youtube, Meta etc to effectively curb Hate speech.

Important Judicial pronouncements
• Pravasi Bhalai Sangathan vs UOI & ors, 2014 – SC lays down certain guidelines with regard to politicans making inflammatory speeches.