{"id":72562,"date":"2026-04-30T18:09:19","date_gmt":"2026-04-30T12:39:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=72562"},"modified":"2026-04-30T18:09:47","modified_gmt":"2026-04-30T12:39:47","slug":"hate-speech-sc-observation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/30-04-2026\/hate-speech-sc-observation","title":{"rendered":"Hate Speech Stems from \u2018us versus them\u2019 Mindset: SC"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Syllabus: GS2\/Polity and Governance<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The Supreme Court said that <strong>hate speech and rumour-mongering<\/strong> stemmed from an<strong> \u201cus versus them\u201d mindset <\/strong>and worked to corrupt a sense of fraternity in a diverse society.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>About<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>A series of petitions were filed seeking <strong>separate laws for hate speech and crimes.\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The court <strong>declined to direct the enactment of specific laws <\/strong>against hate speech and crimes, instead it called for effective enforcement of existing laws.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The judgment said the court cannot enter into the exclusive legislative domain and<strong> left it to the Union government and legislative authorities.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>What are Hate Crimes?&nbsp;<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Hate crimes<\/strong> are any crimes that are <strong>targeted at a person<\/strong> because of <strong>hostility or prejudice<\/strong> towards that person\u2019s disability, race or ethnicity, religion or belief, sexual orientation, gender identity etc.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>In India, the term \u201chate crime\u201d<\/strong> is not separately defined in law, but such acts are punishable under various provisions of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and now the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Impact of Hate Crimes<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Social issues: <\/strong>It deepens divisions between communities and disrupts long-standing social cohesion. Repeated hateful narratives escalate into mob violence, riots, and targeted attacks.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Erosion of Constitutional Values:<\/strong> It challenges the principles of equality, fraternity, and dignity enshrined in the Constitution.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>It undermines secularism, a core pillar of India\u2019s constitutional morality.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Fear and Marginalisation:<\/strong> Communities subjected to repeated hate incidents experience fear, exclusion, and reduced access to opportunities, harming social harmony.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Constitutional Provisions<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Article 14 Equality Before Law:<\/strong> Guarantees equality before law and equal protection of laws to all persons.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Article 15 Prohibition of Discrimination: <\/strong>Prohibits discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex, or place of birth.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Article 19(2)<\/strong> of the Indian Constitution deals with the reasonable restrictions that can be placed on the fundamental right to freedom of speech and expression under Article 19(1)(a).\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Conditions under which speech can be restricted by the state: <\/strong>Security of the State, Public Order, Decency or Morality, Contempt of Court, Defamation, Incitement to Offense.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Article 21 Right to Life and Personal Liberty: <\/strong>Guarantees the right to live with dignity, safety, and security.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Article 25 Freedom of Religion: <\/strong>Ensures freedom of conscience and free profession, practice, and propagation of religion.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Challenges in Addressing Hate speech<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Rapid Digital Amplification:<\/strong> Social media platforms enable hate speech to spread rapidly and reach large audiences without fact-checking.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Encrypted messaging services complicate monitoring and evidence collection.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Difficulty in Proving Intent:<\/strong> Many hate speech offences require proving intent, which is hard to establish.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Establishing a direct link between speech and subsequent violence is legally complex.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Absence of a Legal Definition:<\/strong> India lacks a precise statutory definition of hate speech and crime, resulting in broad interpretation and inconsistent enforcement across states.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Steps taken to Address Hate Crimes<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Indian Penal Code (IPC) \/ Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023:<\/strong> Specific sections like Section 153A, Section 295A, etc in penal codes criminalize promoting enmity between groups (religion, race, language), outraging religious feelings, or inciting public fear\/disorder.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Representation of the People Act, 1951 Sec. 123(3), 123(3A): <\/strong>Prohibit political speech that promotes hatred or appeals to religion, caste, community during elections.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>The Supreme Court, in the case of Pravasi Bhalai Sangathan v. Union of India (2014), <\/strong>acknowledged the lack of specific legislation on hate speech and recommended that the Parliament enact a comprehensive law to address this issue<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>In the case of Amish Devgan v. Union of India (2020) the Supreme Court of India <\/strong>addressed the balance between freedom of speech and expression (Article 19) and the need to restrict hate speech to maintain public order and communal harmony.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Way Ahead<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>India should adopt a clear and comprehensive legal definition of hate speech and crime to ensure uniform and objective enforcement, supported by stronger accountability mechanisms for digital platforms to swiftly remove harmful content.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>An independent oversight mechanism for online harms, combined with better data collection and research, can help design evidence-based interventions and strengthen India\u2019s commitment to equality, dignity, and social cohesion.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Source: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/epaper.thehindu.com\/ccidist-ws\/th\/th_international\/issues\/182745\/OPS\/GHMFSRDUH.1+G8UFTUM4A.1.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>TH<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><strong> Context <\/strong><\/p>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"> The Supreme Court said that hate speech and rumour-mongering stemmed from an \u201cus versus them\u201d mindset and worked to corrupt a sense of fraternity in a diverse society. <\/li>\n<p><\/p>\n<p><strong> About <\/strong><\/p>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"> A series of petitions were filed seeking separate laws for hate speech and crimes.\u00a0 <\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"> The court declined to direct the enactment of specific laws against hate speech and crimes, instead it called for effective enforcement of existing laws. <\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"> The judgment said the court cannot enter into the exclusive legislative domain and left it to the Union government and legislative authorities. <\/li>\n<p><a href=\" https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/30-04-2026\/hate-speech-sc-observation \" class=\"btn btn-primary btn-sm float-end\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-72562","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-affairs"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72562","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=72562"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72562\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":72564,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72562\/revisions\/72564"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=72562"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=72562"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=72562"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}