The judgment established the importance of protecting artistic freedom and the need for sensitivity in matters of freedom of speech and expression.

JUDGMENT

M.S. Sonak, J. - Heard Mr. Shivan Desai for the Petitioners and Mr. Pravin Faldessai, learned Additional Public Prosecutor for the State in all these Petitions.

2. Learned Counsel for the parties agree that all these Petitions raise common issues of law and fact and therefore, can be disposed of by a common Judgment and Order.

3. In these matters, we had directed the impleadment of K. Venkat Krishna, the complainant as Respondent No.3. This matter was adjourned on some occasions to ensure that service is complete on Respondent No.3. Despite service, however, Respondent No.3 has chosen not to appear in these Petitions. The notice/ orders had made it clear that these Petitions would be disposed of finally at the stage of admission itself. The Petitions were taken up for final disposal after service was complete upon Respondent No.3 and even the affidavit to that effect was filed by the Petitioners.

4. The Petitioners are members of an art-rock live performance project known as "Dastaan LIVE". This band performs live on stage and tours India for its performances. The Petitioners claim that the said band is driven by several influential poets and writers from Faiz Ahmed Faiz to Baba Nagarjuna, to Sahir Ludhianvi to Nazeer Akbarabadi, and has composed their lyrics using progressive rock and shades of folk music to create an audio-visual live performance.

5. The Petitioners on the night of 17.12.2019 were performing live at the Serendipity Arts Festival, 2019, at Campal, Panaji, Goa. As a part of the live performance, the said band played their set-list of eight songs which were performed in various cities around India, unhindered, till then. One such song performed by the Petitioners' band was the "Mantra Kavita" by Vaidyanath Misra (widely known as Baba Nagarjun), which was originally composed in the year 1969. The Petitioners have stated on oath that the Poet Shri Vaidyanath Misra @ Baba Nagarjun is a highly acclaimed poet who has received two Sahitya Akademy Awards from the Government of India.

6. The Petitioners have pleaded that on the next day of their performance, i.e. on 18.12.2019, some of them i.e. Anirban Ghosh, Sumant Balkrishnan, Ms. Shiva Pathak, and Ms. Nirmala Ravindran were called to the Panaji Police Station and were informed that some person had complained about their band. They were informed that they were called to the Police Station to issue an apology.

7. The Petitioners have pleaded that the aforesaid four persons, including two women, reported to the Police Station, intending to cooperate with the Police. The Police, however, placed these four persons including the two women under arrest, informing them that an offense under section 295-A of the IPC r/w section 34 of the IPC was registered against them based on a complaint lodged by one K. Venkat Krishna (Respondent No.3 herein).

8. The Petitioners have pleaded that the arrested Petitioners were eventually released on bail and the Petitioners who were yet to be arrested secured anticipatory bail.

9. The Petitioners by instituting these Petitions, have sought for quashing of FIR No.268/2019 dated 18.12.2019 alleging that the Petitioners have committed an offense under section 295-A r/w section 34 of the IPC. The Petitioners contend that the complaint made by Respondent No.3 does not disclose the commission of any offenses under section 295-A r/w section 34 of the IPC and therefore, this is a case of abuse of the criminal process warranting interference by invoking the provisions of section 482 of the Cr.P.C. and Article 226 of the Constitution of India.

10. The Petitioners have pleaded that their band was only performing their own musical adaptation of the poem composed by Shri Vaidyanath Misra @ Baba Nagarjun and even the lyrics were not modified by them, in the least. The Petitioners have pleaded that Shri Vaidyanath Misra @ Baba Nagarjun composed this poem in