Section 295A IPC penalizes only deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings, and does not cover insults offered unwittingly or carelessly. The provision does not apply to acts that do not have a calculated tendency to insult or disturb public order.

JUDGMENT :

DIPAK MISRA, CJI.

1. In the instant writ petition preferred under Article 32 of the Constitution of India, the petitioners, namely, the actor, producer and director of the movie, have prayed for quashing of F.I.R. No.34 of 2018, dated 14.02.2018, registered at Falaknama Police Station, Hyderabad, Telengana. That apart, a prayer has also been made that no F.I.R. should be entertained or no complaint under Section 200 of the Code of Criminal Procedure should be dealt with because of the picturization of the song "Manikya Malaraya Poovi" by the petitioner No.1 in the film, namely, "Oru Adaar Love".

2. The grievance of the petitioners is that the said song has been sung in various parts of the State of Kerala since 1978. It is urged by the learned counsel for the petitioners that the song has been picturized by petitioner No.1 as a part of the movie and the said song, as averred in the writ petition, is a mappila song which is a version of a traditional Muslim song from the Malabar region of Kerala. It is contended that the petitioners cannot be made liable for the song being sung in the movie which is yet to be released. It is not disputed that the song has been available in Youtube and other mediums as a promotional venture.

3. The F.I.R. in the matter has been lodged by the intervenor, namely, M.A. Muqeeth Khan, son of Jawad Khan. The allegation in the F.I.R. is that the song offends the sentiments of a particular community. The F.I.R. has been lodged for an offence under Section 295A of the Indian Penal Code.

4. The pivotal issue that emerges for consideration is whether Section 295A of the I.P.C. would get attracted to the obtaining fact situation.

5. We have heard Mr. Haris Beeran, learned counsel for the petitioners, Mr. S. Udaya Kumar Sagar, learned counsel for the State of Telangana and Mr. Pradeep Kumar Kaushik, learned counsel for the intervenor.

6. Section 295A of the I.P.C. reads thus:-

"295-A. Deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings or any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs.- Whoever, with deliberate and malicious intention of outraging the religious feelings of any class of citizens of India, by words, either spoken or written, or by signs or by visible representations or otherwise, insults or attempts to insult the religion or the religious beliefs of that class, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to three years, or with fine, or with both."

7. It is worthy to note here that the constitutional validity of the said provision was assailed before this Court and a Constitution Bench in Ramji Lal Modi vs. State of U.P., 1957 AIR(SC) 620, spoke thus:-

"8. It is pointed out that S. 295A has been included in chap. 15, Penal Code which deals with offence relating to religion and not in chap. 8 which deals with offences against the public tranquillity and from this circumstance it is faintly sought to be urged, therefore, that offences relating to religion have no bearing on the maintenance of public order or tranquility and consequently a law creating an offence relating to religion and imposing restrictions on the right to freedom of speech and expression cannot claim the protection of cl. (2) of Art. 19. A reference to arts. 25 and 26 of the Constitution, which guarantee the right to freedom of religion, will show that the argument is utterly untenable. The right to freedom of religion assured by those Articles is expressly made subject to public order, morality and health. Therefore, it cannot be predicated that freedom of religion can have no bearing whatever on the maintenance of public order or that a law creating an offence relating to religion cannot under any circumstances be said to have been enacted in the interests of public order. Those two Articles in terms contemplate that restrictions may be imposed on the rights guaranteed by them in the interests of public order.

9. Learned counsel then shifted his ground