Allahabad: The Allahabad High Court has ruled that a WhatsApp message implying religious targeting in a police case could amount to promoting enmity between communities under Section 353(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
The case involved petitioner Afaq Ahmad, who forwarded a message suggesting that his brother was falsely implicated because of his faith. A division bench comprising Justices JJ Munir and Pramod Kumar Srivastava dismissed his plea seeking to quash the FIR filed against him under Article 226 of the Constitution.
The court observed that the message, though not directly mentioning religion, carried a clear undertone implying bias based on faith. Such indirect suggestions, the judges said, have the potential to inflame sentiments and disturb communal harmony. The bench held that the message met the necessary elements of an offence under Section 353(2), which prohibits any act that spreads hatred or ill-will between religious groups.
The High Court emphasized that freedom of expression does not extend to speech that subtly encourages mistrust among communities. It clarified that even digital communication, including WhatsApp messages, falls within the scope of scrutiny under the BNS when it risks harming social cohesion.
Legal experts say this ruling marks a crucial precedent for regulating online speech in India’s religiously diverse society. It highlights the judiciary’s firm approach to curbing communal polarization in digital spaces. However, there should be a level playing field and the law enforcement should not use this as a pretext to harass members of a specific community only while turning a Nelson’s eye to the members of the majority community.
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