FIR over remarks on PM: How law treats obscenity, profanity, Pg 17

Key Highlights:

• The Noida Police registered an FIR against a woman over alleged remarks about the Prime Minister, invoking Sections 352, 353(1) and 356(1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023.
• The article examines whether the use of obscene, profane or vulgar language by itself constitutes a criminal offence under Indian law.
• Indian courts have consistently held that profanity or vulgarity alone does not amount to obscenity unless it satisfies the legal test evolved through judicial precedents.
• The Supreme Court has progressively narrowed the scope of obscenity by adopting the "community standards" test instead of older, stricter doctrines.
• Criminal liability under the invoked BNS provisions depends on proving specific legal ingredients such as intent, public mischief or defamation, rather than merely using offensive language.

Detailed Insights:

• The legal understanding of obscenity has evolved from the Hicklin Test to the more liberal Community Standards Test, reflecting changing societal values.
• In Aveek Sarkar v. State of West Bengal (2014), the Supreme Court held that allegedly obscene material must be judged as a whole and from the perspective of contemporary society.
• Courts have distinguished obscenity from profanity, observing that swear words or vulgar expressions do not automatically arouse sexual thoughts or qualify as obscene.
• The Telangana High Court (2025) ruled that harsh criticism or abusive language against political parties may attract other offences, but cannot be treated as obscenity in the absence of statutory requirements.
• Under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, offences such as public mischief, insult and defamation require proof of specific intent or likely consequences, making conviction dependent on the facts of each case.
• The article highlights the judiciary's attempt to balance freedom of speech under Article 19(1)(a) with reasonable restrictions relating to public order, decency and defamation.

Key Concepts Involved:

• Obscenity: Material that tends to deprave or corrupt and is judged using contemporary community standards.
• Community Standards Test: A judicial test that evaluates allegedly obscene content from the viewpoint of an average contemporary person.
• Defamation: The publication or communication of false statements that harm a person's reputation.
• Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023: India's new criminal code that replaced the Indian Penal Code, 1860.