Merely supporting Pakistan not prima facie offence under BNS: Allahabad HC

As per the applicant’s counsel, the post did not lower the dignity and sovereignty of India, and merely supporting a country, even if the country is an enemy, will not attract the ingredients of Section 152 BNS.

New Delhi: The Allahabad High Court has ruled that merely showing support to Pakistan, without referring to any incident or mentioning the name of India, will not prima facie attract a penal offence under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

A Bench of Justice Arun Kumar Singh Deshwal was dealing with a bail application filed by one Riyaz, an 18-year-old boy, who was booked under Section 152 (acts endangering the sovereignty, unity, and integrity of India) of the BNS for posting an Instagram story which said, “Chahe jo ho jai sport to bas…Pakistan ka karenge (Whatever happens, we will support only… Pakistan)”.

---

In its order, noting that the Instagram post did not mention anything which indicated disrespect towards India, the Bench of Justice Deshwal said, “Merely showing support to Pakistan without referring to any incident or mentioning the name of India, will not prima facie attract the offence under Section 152 BNS.”

“For attracting the ingredients of Section 152 BNS, there must be a purpose by spoken or written words, signs, visible representations, the electronic communication to promote secession, armed rebellion, subversive activities or encourages feeling of separating activities or endangers the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India. Therefore, merely posting a message to simply show support for any country may create anger or disharmony among citizens of India and may also be punishable under Section 196 BNS, which is punishable up to seven years, but definitely will not attract the ingredients of Section 152 BNS,” it added.

The Allahabad High Court, referring to the judgement of the apex court in Imran Pratapgadhi case, reiterated that before registering a case regarding a social media post, it should be looked into as a reasonable man and decision should be based on standards of reasonable, strong-minded, firm and courageous individuals and not based on standards of people with weak and oscillating minds.

It said that before invoking the Section 152 BNS, reasonable care and standards of reasonable person should be adopted as spoken words or posts on social media is also covered by the liberty of freedom of speech and expression, which should not be narrowly construed unless it is of such nature which affect the sovereignty and integrity of a country or encourages separatism.

As per the applicant’s counsel, the post did not lower the dignity and sovereignty of India, and merely supporting a country, even if the country is an enemy, will not attract the ingredients of Section 152 BNS.

Further, it was argued that since the charge sheet had already been filed by the police, there was no requirement for custodial interrogation of the applicant, and if released on bail, he would not misuse his liberty and would cooperate in the trial proceedings. On the other hand, the prosecution argued that the social media post of the applicant encouraged separatist activity, and therefore, he is not entitled to be released on bail.

Considering the young age of the applicant and taking into account that charge sheet has already been filed and without expressing any opinion on the merits of the case, the Bench of Justice Deshwal ordered the accused to be released on bail, on his furnishing a personal bond and two sureties each in the like amount, to the satisfaction of the trial court.

Asking the accused, Riyaz, to not influence witnesses and cooperate in the trial sincerely without seeking any adjournment, it cautioned the applicant to not indulge in any other criminal activity after being released on bail.

“The applicant shall not post any material on social media which could create disharmony among citizens of India. In case of breach of any of the above conditions, it shall be a ground for cancellation of bail,” clarified the Allahabad High Court.