Background

The Supreme Court refused to quash multiple FIRs in the case against a journalist for his alleged defamatory remarks against Sufi saint Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti.

Sufi saint Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti

• According to History, KhwajaMoinuddinChishti was a 13th-century Sufi mystic saint and philosopher who traveled across South Asia, before eventually settling in Ajmer, where he died.
• KhwajaMoinuddinChishtipassed away in 1236 AD. He was almost 114 years old and his sacred mortal remains are what constitute his tomb in Ajmer Sharif Dargah.
• Among the Sufi shrines, the shrine of Sufi saint Moinuddin Chishti in Ajmer is one of the most popular.

Hate Speech

• Hate speech constitutes a criminal charge under Section 153A of IPC, which is the offense of promoting communal disharmony or feelings of hatred between different religious, racial, language or regional groups or castes or communities.
• 153B of the Indian Penal Code categorizes the offense of promoting religious, racist, linguistic, community, or caste hatred or incites any religious, caste or any other disharmony or enmity within India, through any speech either in written form or spoken.

Regulated in India

• Section 298 of the IPC, similarly, classifies the offense of uttering words with the deliberate intent to wound the religious feelings of any person.
• Likewise, Section 505 of the IPC, criminalizes the act of delivering speeches that incite violence.
• Sections 295A and 509A also have similar provisions.
• The 123(3A) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, also criminalizes hate speech by-election candidates.
• In 2014, while addressing a Public interest Litigation seeking guidelines for regulating Hate Speech, the Supreme Court made certain observations.