New Delhi: During the hearing of a matter, the Supreme Court on Tuesday stated that calling someone 'Miyan-Tiyan' or 'Pakistani' may be in poor taste but does not amount to an offence of hurting religious sentiments. The observation came as a bench of Justices BV Nagarathna and Satish Chandra Sharma were closing a case against a man accused of calling a government servant 'Pakistani'.
The Supreme Court stated, "Undoubtedly, the statements made are in poor taste. However, it does not amount to hurting the religious sentiments of the informant. Hence, we are of the opinion that the appellant shall also be discharged under Section 298 IPC.”
The complaint was filed by an Urdu translator and an acting clerk in Jharkhand and as per the complaint, when he visited the accused to furnish information about a Right To Information (RTI) application, the latter abused him by referring to his religion and used criminal force to prevent the discharge of his official duties.
The whole matter led to a first information report against the man for offences under Sections 298 (hurting religious sentiments), 504 (insult with intent to provoke breach of peace), and 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharging duty) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).