SC to hear plea against shouting "Jai Shri Ram" slogan inside mosques
Dec 16, 2024
New Delhi [India], December 16 : The Supreme Court on Monday posted for hearing in January 2025 an appeal challenging a Karnataka High Court verdict which had held that shouting "Jai Shri Ram" inside a mosque does not attract the offence of outrage the religious feelings or sentiments.
A bench of Justices Pankaj Mithal and Sandeep Mehta asked the complainant, who filed the appeal, to serve a petition copy to the state of Karnataka.
Posting the matter for hearing in January 2025, the bench asked how shouting a particular religious slogan can be an offence.
"Alright, they were shouting a particular religious slogan. How is that an offence?" asked Justice Mehta.
Senior advocate Devdatt Kamat, representing the complainant argued that shouting a religious slogan in another religious place would amount to the offence of inciting communal disharmony under Section 153A of the Indian Penal Code.
The bench then asked whether CCTV or any other evidence was checked before ascertaining the identity of the accused.
"How were the respondents (accused) identified? Did you see CCTV and made the accused party?" the bench asked.
Refusing to issue notice on the appeal, the bench asked complainant Haydhar Ali CM to serve the petition copy to the counsel of Karnataka.
"We are not issuing notice. List after two weeks," the apex court said.
On September 13, the High Court quashed the criminal proceedings against two men booked on allegations that they insulted others' religious beliefs.
The case involves allegations that two residents of Dakshin Kannada district, Keerthan Kumar and Sachin Kumar, entered a local mosque named Badnya Jumma Mashib last year and shouted "Jai Shri Ram."
The complainants then approached the top court against the High Court's order and disagreed with the High Court's observations regarding whether shouting "Jai Shri Ram" in a mosque would constitute an insult to a religious class.
