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2026 Supreme(SC) 468

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
VIKRAM NATH, SANDEEP MEHTA, JJ.
Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay – Petitioner
Versus
Union of India & Ors. – Respondents
Writ Petition (Civil) No. 943 of 2021 WITH Writ Petition (Civil) No. 788 of 2020 And Writ Petition (Civil) No. 789 of 2020 And Writ Petition (Civil) No. 477 of 2020 And Writ Petition (Civil) No. 956 of 2020 And SLP (Civil) NO. 6913 of 2021 And Writ Petition (Civil) No. 907 of 2021 And Writ Petition (Civil) No. 1265 of 2021 And Writ Petition (Civil) No. 24 of 2022 And Writ Petition (Civil) No. 80 of 2022 And Writ Petition (Civil) No. 940 of 2022 And SLP (Criminal) No. 5107 of 2023 and Conmt. Pet.(C) NO. 776 of 2023 In Writ Petition (Civil) No. 940 of 2022 And Diary No. 11853 OF 2023 And Writ Petition (Civil) No. 515 of 2023 and Conmt. Pet.(C) no. 1153 of 2023 In Writ Petition (Civil) No. 943 of 2021 And Diary No. 41754 OF 2023 And Conmt. Pet.(C) No. 1235 of 2023 In Writ Petition (Civil) No. 940 of 2022 And Diary No. 5793 of 2024 And Writ Petition (Civil) No. 128 of 2024 And Writ Petition (Civil) No. 200 of 2024 And Diary No. 1579 of 2025 And Diary No. 3470 of 2025
Decided On : 29-04-2026

Advocates appeared:
For the Petitioner(s):Mr. Sanjay Hegde, Sr. Adv. Mr. Mrigank Prabhakar, AOR Mr. Anas Tanwir, Adv. Mr. Ebad Ur Rahman, Adv. Ms. Zainab Shaikh, Adv. Ms. Sakshi Banga, Adv. Ms. Astha Singh, Adv. Mr. Masoom Raj Singh, Adv. Mr. Fakhre Alam, Adv. Mr. Ankit Tiwari, Adv. Mr. Ashish Kumar, Adv. Mr. M. R . Shamshad, Sr. Adv. Mr. Arijit Sarkar, Adv. Mr. Farrukh Rasheed, AOR Mr. Nizam Pasha, Adv. Ms. Rashmi Singh, Adv. Mr. Mushtaq Salim, Adv. Mr. Lzafeer Ahmad B. F., AOR Mr. Sidharth Kauhik Adv. Mr. Sachin Dubey, Adv. Ms. Awstika Das, Adv. Mr. Madhav Deepak, Adv. Ms. Preeti Singh, AOR Mr. Amit Pai, Adv. Mr. Pulkit Agarwal, AOR Ms. Sylona Mohapatra , AOR *Ms. Shahrukh Alam, Adv. Mr. Talha Abdul Rahman, AOR Mr. Ashwani Kumar Dubey, AOR Mr. Rashid N Azam, Adv. Mr. V. Elanchezhiyan, AOR Mr. Danish Saifi, Adv. Mr. Shafik Ahmed, Adv. Ms. Anju, Adv. Mr. Naman Dwivedi, Adv. Mr. Sunny, Adv. Mr. Manoj Kumar, Adv. Ms. Chunri Gupta, Adv. Mr. Rishab Sardana, Adv. Mr. Vishnu Kant, AOR Petitioner-in-person (NP) Mr. Ejaz Maqbool, AOR Mr. Burhan V. Bukhari, Adv. Mr. Zain Maqbool, Adv. Mr. Meeran Maqbool, Adv. Mr. Saif Zia, Adv. Mr. C. George Thomas, Adv. Mr. Mrigank Prabhakar, AOR Ms. Sakshi Banga, Adv. Ms. Astha Singh, Adv. Mr. Adeel Ahmed, AOR Mr. Barun Kumar Sinha, Adv. Mrs. Pratibha Sinha, Adv. Mr. Sneh Vardhan, Adv. Mr. Rakesh Mudgal, Adv. Mr. Pankaj Kumar Shukla, Adv. Mr. Chhail Bihari Singh, Adv. Mr. Ritu Raj, Adv. Mrs. Kanika, Adv. Mr. Anantha Narayana M.g., AOR Mr. Ganesh Kamath, Adv. Mr. Vaibhav Singh, Adv. Ms. Sumita Hazarika, AOR Ms. Dharitry Phookan, AOR Mr. Hari Shankar Jain, Adv. Mr. Vishnu Shankar Jain, AOR Mr. Parth Yadav, Adv. Ms. Mani Munjal, Adv. Ms. Marbiang Khongwir, Adv. Mr. Ashish Kumar Dwivedi, Adv. Mr. Shaurya Krishna, Adv. Mr. Saurabh Singh, Adv. Mr. Deva Vrat Anand, Adv. Mr. T. R. B. Sivakumar, AOR Ms. Sarah Sunny, Adv. Mr. N. Ashwani Kumar, Adv. Mr. Amit Pai, AOR Ms. Pankhuri Bhardwaj, Adv.
For the Respondent(s): Mr. Tushar Mehta, Solicitor General (NP) Mr. K.M.Nataraj, A.S.G. (NP) Mr. Kanu Agrawal, Adv. Mr. Rajat Nair, Adv. Mr. Mayank Pandey, Adv. Mr. Sanjay Kr.tyagi, Adv. Mr. Siddharth Dharamadhikari, Adv. Mr. Varun Chugh, Adv. Mr. Amit Sharma-b, Adv. Ms. Saumya Tandon, Adv. Mr. Sudarshan Lamba, AOR Mr. Tushar Mehta, Solicitor General (NP) Mr. S.V. Raju, A.S.G. Mr. Siddharth Dharmadhikari, Adv. Mr. Aaditya Aniruddha Pande, AOR Mr. Shrirang B. Varma, Adv. Mr. Bharat Bagla, Adv. Mr. Sourav Singh, Adv. Mr. Aditya Krishna, Adv. Mr. Adarsh Dubey, Adv. Ms. Chitransha Singh Sikarwar, Adv. Mr. Tushar Mehta, Solicitor General (NP) Mr. K.M.Nataraj, A.S.G.(NP) Mr. Rajat Nair, Adv. Mr. Sanjay Kumar Tyagi, Adv. Mr. Varun Chugh, Adv. Ms. Kanu Agrawal, Adv. Mr. Mayank Panday, Adv. Mr. Siddharth Dharamadhikari, Adv. Ms. Saumya Tandon, Adv. Mr. Amit Sharma-b, Adv. Mr. Udai Khanna, Adv. Mr. Amit Sharma, Adv. Mr. Arvind Kumar Sharma, AOR Mr. Aman Mehta, Adv. Mr. Tushar Mehta Ld, Solicitor General (NP) Mr. K.M.Nataraj, A.S.G.(NP) Mr. Mukesh Kumar Maroria, AOR Mr. Kanu Agarwal, Adv. Mr. Rajat Nair, Adv. Mr. Mayank Pandey, Adv. Mr. Sanjay Kumar Tyagi, Adv. Mr. Varun Chugh, Adv. Ms. Saumya Tandon, Adv. Mr. Siddharth Dharamadhikari, Adv. Mr. Aman Mehta, Adv. Mr. Tushar Mehta, Solicitor General (NP) Mr. K.M.Nataraj, A.S.G.(NP) Mr. Kanu Agrawal, Adv. Mr. Rajat Nair, Adv. Mr. Mayank Pandey, Adv. Mr. Sanjay Kr.tyagi, Adv. Mr. Varun Chugh, Adv. Mr. Amit Sharma-(b), Adv. Mr. Rajan Kr.chourasia, Adv. MR. Aman Mehta, Adv. Dr. N. Visakamurthy, AOR Mr. Tushar Mehta, Solicitor General (NP) Mr. K M Natraj, A.S.G.(NP) Mr. Kanu Agarwal, Adv. Mr. Rajat Nair, Adv. Mr. Mayank Pandey, Adv. Mr. Sanjay Kr.tyagi, Adv. Mr. Varun Chugh, Adv. Mr. Siddharth Dharmadhikari, Adv. Ms. Saumya Tandan, Adv. Mr. Amit Sharma (b), Adv. Mr. Amrish Kumar, AOR Mr. Tushar Mehta, Solicitor General (NP) Mr. K.M.Nataraj, A.S.G.(NP) Mr. Mukesh Kumar Maroria, AOR Mr. Kanu Agarwal, Adv. Mr. Rajat Nair, Adv. Mr. Mayank Pandey, Adv. Mr. Sanjay Kumar Tyagi, Adv. Mr. Varun Chugh, Adv. Ms. Saumya Tandon, Adv. Mr. Siddharth Dharamadhikari, Adv. Mr. Aman Mehta, Adv. Mr. K.M. Nataraj, A.S.G. (NP) Ms. Ruchira Goel, AOR Ms. Indira Bhakar, Adv. Mr. Satwik Misra, Adv. Mr. K.M. Nataraj, A.S.G.(NP) Ms. Ruchira Goel, AOR Ms. Indira Bhakar, Adv. Mr. Satwik Misra, Adv. Mr. P V Surendranath, Sr. Adv. Mr. Biju P Raman, AOR Mr. John Thomas Arakal, Adv. Ms. Nandana Harikrishnan, Adv. Mr. Sawan Kumar Shukla, Adv. Ms. Dimple Nagpal, Adv. Mr. Subhash Chandran K.R., Adv. Ms. Lekha Sudhakaran, Adv. Mr. Sanjay Parikh, Sr. Adv. Ms. Srishti Agnihotri, AOR Ms. Kritika, Adv. Ms. Tara Elizabeth Kurien, Adv. Mr. D.p.singh, Adv. Ms. Anchal Kanthed, Adv. Mr. Dama Seshadri Naidu, Sr. Adv. Mr. Prateek Kumar, AOR Mr. Devansh Rai, Adv. Mr. Abhinav Thakur, Adv. Mr. Deepak Sharma, Adv. Mr. Sunil Dalal, Sr. Adv. Mr. Shoumendu Mukherji, AOR Mr. Soumava Karmakar, Adv. Ms. Manisha Saroha, Adv. Mr. Nikhil Beniwal, Adv. Mr. Satya Ranjan Swain, Adv. Mr. Sahaj Garg, Adv. Mr. Chetanya Puri, Adv. Mr. Aniruddha Ghosh, Adv. Mr. Saurav Kumar, Adv. Ms. Surabhi Tuli, Adv. Mr. Kunal Kant, Adv. Mr. Shadan Farasat, Sr. Adv. (NP) Mr. Sarah Sunny, Adv. Mr. T. R. B. Sivakumar, AOR Mr. Shadan Farasat, Sr. Adv.(NP) Ms. Shahrukh Alam, Adv. Mr. Shantanu Singh, Adv. Mr. Navneet R., AOR Ms. Alankrita Sinha, Adv. Mr. Kanu Agrawal, Adv. Mr. Varun Chugh, Adv. Mr. Krishna Kant Dubey, Adv. Mr. Bhuvan Kapoor, Adv. Mr. Santosh Ramdurg, Adv. Mr. Shreekant Neelappa Terdal, AOR Mr. Avdhesh Kumar Singh, A.A.G. Mrs. Prerna Dhall, Adv. Mr. Ambuj Swaroop, Adv. Mr. Kapil Katare, Adv. Ms. Rajnandani Kumari, Adv. Mr. Prashant Singh, AOR Mr. Abhishek Atrey, AOR Mr. Jatinder Kumar Sethi, D.A.G. Dr. Abhishek Atrey, Adv. Ms. Ambika Atrey, Adv. Mr. Navneet Gupta, Adv. Ms. Devina Sehgal, AOR Mr. Yatharth Kansal, Adv. Mr. Srikanth Varma Mudunuru, Adv. Mr. Sanchit Garga, AOR Mr. Kunal Rana, Adv. Mr. Shashwat Jaiswal, Adv. Mr. Anshuman Ashok, AOR Ms. Nisha Bhambhani, Adv. Mr. Rajat Arora, AOR Ms. Mariya Shahab, Adv. Mr. Anand Shankar, AOR Mr. Vishnu Shankar Jain, AOR Mr. Shaurya Krishna, Adv. Mr. Ashish Kumar Dwivedi, Adv. Mr. Parth Yadav, Adv. Ms. Mani Munjal, Adv. Ms. Marbiang Khongwir, Adv. Mr. Saurabh Singh, Adv. Mr. Milind Kumar, AOR Mr. Abhay Anil Anturkar, Adv. Mr. Dhruv Tank, Adv. Ms. Surbhi Kapoor, AOR Mr. Sarthak Mehrotra, Adv. Ms. Subhi Pastor, Adv. Mr. Bhagwant Deshpande, Adv. Ms. Swati Ghildiyal, AOR Ms. Neha Singh, Adv. Mr. Nishant Kumar , AOR Mr. Anubhav Sharma, Adv. Mr. Siddharth Mohanty, Adv. Mr. Parth Awasthi, Adv. Mr. Pashupathi Nath Razdan, AOR Mr. V. N. Raghupathy, AOR Mr. Pukhrambam Ramesh Kumar, AOR Mr. Karun Sharma, Adv. Ms. Anupama Ngangom, Adv. Ms. Rajkumari Divyasana, Adv. Mr. Anando Mukherjee, AOR Mr. Shwetank Singh, Adv. Mr. Siddhesh Shirish Kotwal, AOR Mr. Gaurav Khanna, AOR Mr. Prashant Alai, Adv. Mr. Kunal Mimani, AOR Mr. Surender Kumar Gupta, AOR Mr. Mohammed Khalid, Adv. Mr. Saurav Mishra, Adv. Ms. Mokshita Sharma, Adv. Mr. Vishal Prasad, AOR Mr. Karan Sharma, AOR Ms. Astha Sharma, AOR Mr. Talha Abdul Rahman, AOR Mr. Sumit Teterrwal, AOR Mr. Ilin Saraswat, Adv. Ms. Swati Jain, Adv. Mr. Gagan Kataria, Adv. Mr. Abhishek Yadav, AOR Ms. Manju Jetley, AOR Mr. Piyush Beriwal, AOR Mr. Rudra Paliwal, Adv. Ms. Aisha Singh, Adv. Mr. Nishant Kumar , AOR Mr. Anubhav Sharma, Adv. Mr. Siddharth Mohanty, Adv. Mr. Harsh Kaushik, AOR Mr. Anand Shankar, AOR Mr. Shovan Mishra, AOR Ms. Bipasa Tripathy, Adv. Mr. Shlok Luthra, Adv. Mr. Dhawal Uniyal , AOR Mr. Awanish Sinha, AOR Mr. Mehmood Umar Faruqui, AOR Mr. Pratik R. Bombarde, AOR Mr. Sameer Abhyankar, AOR Mr. Rahul Kumar, Adv. Mr. Aakash Thakur, Adv. Ms. Arushi Chopra, Adv. Mr. Chitranshul A. Sinha, AOR Ms. Ranjeeta Rohatgi, AOR Mrs. Shrika Gautam, Adv. Mr. Gurmeet Singh Makker, AOR Mr. Anirban Tripathi, Adv. Mr. Ashutosh Dubey, AOR Ms. Rajshri Dubey, Adv. Mr. Abhishek Chauhan, Adv. Mr. H. B. Dubey, Adv. Mr. Amit P Shahi, Adv. Mr. Amit Kumar, Adv. Ms. Vatsala Vishakha, Adv. Mr. Rahul Sethi, Adv. Mr. Shashibhushan Nagar, Adv. Mr. Sumant A. Khan, Adv. Mr. Rajendra Anbhule, Adv. Ms. Trikha Chanda, Adv. Mr. Anjan Datta, Adv. Mr. Ravi Sharma, AOR Mr. Kaleeswaram Raj, Adv. Mrs. Anu K Joy, Adv. Ms. Thulasi K Raj, Adv. Ms. Aparna Menon, Adv. Mr. Alim Anvar, Adv. Ms. Chinnu Mariya Antony, Adv. Mr. Santhosh K, Adv. Mr. Nishe Rajen Shonker, AOR Mrs. Devika A.l., Adv. Mr. Devendra Singh, AOR Mr. Suvidutt M.s., AOR Ms. K. Enatoli Sema, AOR Mr. Amit Kumar Singh, Adv. Ms. Chubalemla Chang, Adv. Mr. Prang Newmai, Adv. Ms. Yanmi Phazang,, Adv. Mr. Avijit Mani Tripathi, AOR Mr. T.k. Nayak, Adv. Ms. Marbiang Khongwir, Adv. Mr. Vikas Bansal, Adv. Mr. Avijit Mani Tripathi, AOR Mr. Upendra Mishra, Adv. Mr. P.S. Negi, Adv. Mr. Abhishek, AOR Mr. Upendra Pratap Singh, AOR Ms. Disha Singh, AOR Ms. Eliza Bar, Adv. Mr. Anas Tanwir, AOR Mr. Sarad Kumar Singhania, AOR Mr. Kaleeswaram Raj, Adv. Mr. Mohammed Sadique T.a., AOR Ms. Thulasi K Raj, Adv. Ms. Aparna Menon, Adv. Ms. Chinnu Mariya Antony, Adv. Mr. Kanu Agrawal, Adv. Mr. Varun Chugh, Adv. Mr. Krishna Kant Dubey, Adv. Mr. Bhuvan Kapoor, Adv. Mr. Santosh Ramdurg, Adv. Mr. Shreekant Neelappa Terdal, AOR Mr. Ashwani Bhardwaj, AOR Mr. Annam Venkatesh, AOR Mr. Rahul Mishra, Adv. Ms. Shailja, Adv. Ms. Agrimaa Singh, Adv.

Courts cannot create criminal offences for hate speech as existing laws suffice; FIR registration mandatory sans prior sanction at pre-cognizance stage; no continuing mandamus where statutory remedies adequate.

Headnote:(A) Constitution of India - Articles 32, 19(1)(a), Preamble (fraternity) - Criminal Jurisprudence - Hate speech - Court cannot create or expand criminal offences absent legislative action - Separation of powers mandates judicial restraint - Existing substantive criminal law (provisions penalising promotion of enmity, outraging religious feelings, public mischief) adequately addresses hate speech - No legislative vacuum - Law Commission 267th Report recommends amendments, but implementation legislative prerogative. (Paras 14-36, 37-44, 98.1-98.2)

(B) CrPC/BNSS - Sections 154/173, 156(3)/175, 196/217, 197/218 - Mandatory registration of FIR on disclosure of cognizable offence - No preliminary inquiry except limited cases - Magistrate under s.156(3)/175(3) orders pre-cognizance investigation including FIR registration - Prior sanction not required at FIR/investigation stage, only at cognizance u/s 190/210 - Layered remedies: SP u/s 154(3)/173(4), Magistrate u/s 156(3)/175(3), complaint u/s 200/223. (Paras 45-62, 98.3, 106-134)

(C) Writ Jurisdiction - Continuing mandamus - Not warranted where statutory framework adequate - No systemic failure justifying perpetual oversight - Judicial innovation for compliance, not anticipation of defaults - Fraternity assures dignity, unity; hate speech antithetical to constitutional ethos of harmony transcending diversities. (Paras 63-76, 98.4-98.5, 77-97)

Facts of the case:
Batch of writ petitions invoking Art.32 seeking directions for legislation on hate speech/rumour-mongering, implementation of Law Commission Report, mandatory FIRs, continuing oversight; occasioned by pandemic-era speeches insinuating communal blame, later public events with inflammatory rhetoric; SLPs on FIR refusal sans sanction; contempts alleging non-compliance with interim orders directing prompt action.

Findings of Court:
No directions for new law/enforcement scheme; existing remedies efficacious; clarify no sanction bar for s.156(3); close compliant contempts; pend others for response.

Issues: (I) Can Court create/expand offences sans legislation? (II) Existing law adequate for hate speech? (III) Procedural remedies sufficient esp. non-FIR? (IV) Continuing mandamus warranted?

Ratio Decidendi: Judiciary interprets/enforces, does not legislate crimes; field occupied by penal provisions on enmity/religious outrage; CrPC/BNSS provides mandatory FIR, Magistrate oversight pre-cognizance sans sanction; no continuous monitoring absent vacuum/failure; fraternity demands restraint against divisive speech.

Result: Writ petitions/SLP

(C) 6913/2021 dismissed; SLP(Crl)5107/2023 partly allowed setting aside sanction bar for s.156(3); specified contempts closed/pending.

Table of Content
1. petitions seek hate speech legislation enforcement. (Para 1 , 2 , 3 , 4)
2. parties argue enforcement gaps in hate speech laws. (Para 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12)
3. crime requires legislative prohibition and punishment. (Para 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17)
4. constitution mandates functional separation of powers. (Para 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25)
5. courts cannot create criminal offences without vacuum. (Para 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36)
6. ipc adequately covers hate speech offences. (Para 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 , 44)
7. fir registration mandatory for cognizable offences. (Para 45 , 46 , 47 , 48 , 49 , 50 , 51 , 52 , 53 , 54 , 55)
8. statutory remedies adequate for non-registration. (Para 56 , 57 , 58 , 59 , 60 , 61 , 62)
9. continuing mandamus unwarranted absent systemic failure. (Para 63 , 64 , 65 , 66 , 67 , 68 , 69 , 70 , 71 , 72 , 73 , 74 , 75 , 76)
10. hate speech violates constitutional fraternity. (Para 77 , 78 , 79 , 80 , 81 , 82 , 83 , 84 , 85 , 86 , 87 , 88 , 89 , 90 , 91 , 92 , 93 , 94 , 95 , 96 , 97)
11. no judicial creation of hate speech offences. (Para 98)
12. no prior sanction needed for section 156(3) fir. (Para 99 , 100 , 101 , 102 , 103 , 104 , 105 , 106 , 107 , 108 , 109 , 110 , 111 , 112 , 113 , 114 , 115 , 116 , 117 , 118 , 119 , 120 , 121 , 122 , 123 , 124 , 125 , 126 , 127 , 128 , 129 , 130 , 131 , 132 , 133 , 134 , 135 , 136 , 137 , 138 , 139 , 140)
13. contempt requires proof of wilful disobedience. (Para 141 , 142 , 143 , 144 , 145 , 146 , 147 , 148 , 149 , 150 , 151 , 152 , 153 , 154 , 155 , 156 , 157 , 158 , 159 , 160 , 161 , 162 , 163)
14. dismiss petitions; enforce existing hate speech laws. (Para 164 , 165 , 166 , 167 , 168 , 169 , 170)

JUDGMENT

VIKRAM NATH, J.

For easy exposition and clarity in addressing the issues arising in the present batch of matters, we have structured this judgment into four parts. Part ‘I’ deals with the writ petitions; Part ‘II’ addresses the Special Leave Petitions; Part ‘III’ concerns the contempt petitions; and Part ‘IV’ sets out the conclusions along with the final directions of this Court.

Part I

Table of Contents
A.	Overview of the reliefs sought in the present proceedings
B.	Issues before this Court
C.	Submissions on behalf of the parties
D.	Analysis and Discussion
	Nature and Essential Attributes of Crime in Criminal Jurisprudence
	ISSUE I: Whether this Court can create or expand criminal offences in the absence of legislative action?
(i)	Separation of Power under the Indian Constitution
(ii)	Limits of Judicial Power in the Creation of Criminal Offences
	ISSUE II: Whether the existing field of substantive criminal law adequately deals with offences relating to hate speech, or the field is legislatively unoccupied?
x	ISSUE II: Whether the existing field of substantive criminal law adequately deals with offences relating to hate speech, or the field is legislatively unoccupied?
	ISSUE III: Whether the existing framework of criminal procedural law provides adequate and efficacious remedies to address the grievances raised by the petitioners, particularly in cases of non-registration of a First Information Report?
(i)	Statutory Framework governing Registration of Offences under CrPC/BNSS
(ii)	Mandatory Registration of FIR upon Disclosure of Cognizable Offence
(iii)	Statutory Mechanism to address Non-registration of FIR
(iv)	Constitutional Remedies in cases of Continuing Non-redressal
	ISSUE IV: Whether a continuing mandamus is warranted in the present case?
E.	Epilogue: An ode to ‘Fraternity’ in the Preamble vis-à-vis the idea of ‘vasudhaiva kutumbakam’
(i)	Fraternity in the Constitutional Ethos of Indian Society
(ii)	Vision of the Constituent Assembly and the Duties of Constitutional Citizenship
F.	Conclusion of Part I:

1. The juri

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Judicial Analysis

2026 Supreme(SC) 468

Courts cannot create criminal offences for hate speech as existing laws suffice; FIR registration mandatory sans prior sanction at pre-cognizance stage; no continuing mandamus where statutory remedies adequate.

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