look news india
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday quashed an FIR filed on the basis of the WhatsApp status of a professor criticizing the abrogation of Article 370, saying every citizen has the right to criticize any decision of the government. With this, the Supreme Court overturned the order of the Bombay High Court.
A case was registered against Professor Javed Ahmed Hazam under IPC section 153A (promoting communal division) at Hatkanangle police station in Kolhapur. The barber wrote on WhatsApp that 5th August – Black Day of Jammu and Kashmir, 14th August – Independence Day of Pakistan.
The apex court termed August 5, the day Article 370 was removed from Jammu and Kashmir, as a black day and said it was an expression of anger and pain. The top court has also held that greeting the people of Pakistan on Independence Day is a gesture of goodwill and cannot be said to incite enmity or enmity, hatred or ill-will between different religious groups. Every citizen has the right to wish citizens of other countries on their Independence Day.
A bench of Justice Abhay S Oka and Justice Ujjwal Bhuyan said- “The Constitution of India guarantees freedom of speech and expression under Article 19(1)(A). Under the said guarantee, every citizen has the right to criticize every decision of the government, including the abrogation of Article 370. They have the right to say that they are unhappy with any decision of the government.