Freedom Of Speech V. Hate Speech: Legal Boundaries In India
- Indian Journal of Law and Legal Research
- Mar 6
- 2 min read
Daksh Yogi, Delhi Metropolitan Education, affiliated GGSIPU, Delhi
ABSTRACT
Freedom of speech, a fundamental right, enshrined in the Article19(1)(a) of The Indian Constitution, serves as a cornerstone for the democratic governance of India. It allows the public of India to express one’s own thoughts, opinions, and beliefs freely, and yet, this right is subject to “reasonable restrictions” under the Article19(2) of the Indian Constitution in order to prolong public order, decency and social harmony. A major aspect that continuously preserves itself in the debates is the intersection of free speech with ‘hate speech’, that lies with the power to provoke violence, discrimination and hostility among different community groups that are generally based on religion, caste, or racism.
Hate speech is not specifically described in the Article19(2) of the Indian Constitution, that eventually leads us to ‘ambiguity and selective execution’ of the laws. Laws such as Section 196(equivalent to Section 153A IPC), Section 299(equivalent to Section 295A IPC) and Section 353(equivalent to section 505 IPC) of the ‘Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, aims to restrict and outlaw such thoughts or speech that can become a threat to public decency and social harmony and peace between various communities. Even though such legal provisions are already present in the Indian Constitution, hate speech is becoming more general and extensive, with the rise in the use of digital or social media, that ultimately becomes a challenge for the legal system in our country to enforce such laws.
This research paper explores and talks about the ‘legal boundaries, present in the Indian Constitution, for hate speech’. The presence of freedom of speech, along with the suppression of hate speech, is necessary for a democratic country such as India, to support its social harmony and peace within the public.
Keywords: Freedom of speech, Article19(1)(a), Article19(2), The Constitution of India, reasonable restrictions, free speech, hate speech, Section 196, Section 299, Section 353, Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, Public order, social harmony, national integrity
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