JUDGMENT :

SUNIL B. SHUKRE, J.

1. Heard. Rule. Rule is made returnable forthwith. With the consent of the parties, the petition is taken up for final disposal at the stage of admission itself.

2. The petitioner is a Professor in Sanjay Ghodavat Collage. There is a whatsapp group comprising parents-teachers organization and the petitioner is a member of this whatsapp group. It is alleged that between 13.08.2022 and 15.08.2022, the petitioner being a member of this whatsapp group, created whatsapp status giving two messages namely; (1) AUGUST 5 BLACK DAY JAMMU & KASHMIR and (2) 14th August Happy Independence Day Pakistan. It is further alleged that below the first message displayed as status of the petitioner on whatsapp application in petitioner’s handset was written “Article 370 was abrogated, we are not happy”. On the basis of these allegations, Hatkanangale Police Station, Kolhapur registered an offence punishable under Section 153-A of the Indian Penal Code, 1860.

3. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that here is the case where the petitioner has not circulated any derogatory message much less any message with the intention of promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, caste or community or any other ground whatsoever or bringing about disharmony or feeling of hatred or ill-will between different religious, racial, language or rational groups or castes or communities. He submits that by these status messages, the petitioner did not commit any act which would be prejudicial to the maintenance of harmony between different religious, racial, language or regional groups or castes or communities, and which disturbs or is likely to disturb the public tranquility.

4. Reliance is placed upon the view taken by the Supreme Court in the case of Balwant Singh & Anr. Vs. State of Punjab, (1995) 3 SCC 214 and Manzar Sayeed Khan Vs. State of Maharashtra & Anr., (2007) 5 SCC 1 Reliance is also placed upon the judgment of this Court in the case of Sandeep Arjun Kudale Vs. The State of Maharashtra in Writ Petition (Stamp) No.21880 of 2022 decided on 27.02.2023.

5. Learned APP for the State submits that whether the whatsapp status messages uploaded by the petitioner on his whatsapp application had the tendency or intention to promote disharmony or feeling of hatred or ill-will between different religious, racial, language or rational groups or castes or communities or were prejudicial to the maintenance of harmony between different religious, racial, language or regional groups or castes or communities, and which disturb or are likely to disturb the public tranquility etc. is something which will have to be decided on merits of the matter as prima facie the status messages had the tendency to promote religious disharmony and/or prejudicial to the maintenance of harmony between two different groups and also had the tendency to disturb the public tranquility. He also submits that the petitioner is a Professor and if by these status messages, the petitioner is showing his certain likes and dislikes in a casual manner, without giving any reason or justification whatsoever for them, the prima facie inference would have to be drawn about constituting the offence punishable under Section 153-A and this is all the more so as the target audience is the organization of parent and teachers of an educational institution.

6. Upon considering the status messages in question, we find that there is substance in the argument of the learned APP for the State and there is no merit in the submissions of the learned counsel for the petitioner.

7. It is true that the Supreme Court, in the cases relied upon by the learned counsel for the petitioner and also in the order of the Co- ordinate Bench of this Court, referred to above, a view has been taken that Section 153-A of IPC is an offence which is constituted only where the spoken words have the tendency or intention of creating public disorder or