The Bombay High Court has quashed the FIRs registered against TV host Shekhar Suman & comedian Bharati Singh, wherein it was alleged that they had hurt the religious sentiment by using certain words in a joke which was aired on the Sony TV show Comedy Circus Ka Jadoo. The High Court held that mere mentioning of food items in a comic act cannot amount to an insult to religion.

The petitioners had approached the High Court challenging the registration of the First Information Reports for the alleged offences punishable under Section 295-A read with Section 34 of the Indian Penal Code.

The Single Bench of Justice Amit Borkar held, “The submission is that “Dahi Bhalla” and “Rasgulla” are common food items, known and consumed by people across communities, and there is no religious colour in those expressions. This contention cannot be brushed aside. The words by themselves are neutral in ordinary social use. Mere mention of food items in a comic act cannot amount to insult of religion. Something more is required. There must be material to show that the words were selected as a weapon of offence.”

“I am also mindful of the fact that criminal law should not be invoked in a casual manner against an artist or a programme judge merely because somebody feels insulted by a performance viewed out of context. There must be deliberate targeting of religious feeling. There must be malicious object. There must be sufficient material to connect the petitioner with that object. On the present record, the connection is missing”, it added.


Senior Advocate Niteen Pradhan represented the Petitioner, while Additional Public Prosecutor Megha Bajoria represented the Respondent.

Factual Background

The impugned FIR came to be registered pursuant to a complaint lodged by one Mohd. Imran Dadani Rasabi, who claimed to be the President of Raza Academy. The Petitioner (Shekhar Suman) was functioning as a Judge at the relevant time in a Sony Entertainment Television (SET) programme titled “Comedy Circus Ka Jadoo” and another Petitioner (Bharati Singh) was only a performing artist. The complainant alleged that a programme telecast on November 20, 2010, contained certain expressions, including the words “Ya Allah! Rasgulla! Dahi Bhalla!”, which were perceived to have offended the religious sentiments of members of the Muslim community. On the basis of such a complaint, the matter was forwarded to Pydhonie Police Station, which resulted in the registration of the impugned FIR.

In the said episode, a well-known television artist, Bharti Singh, performed a character styled as “Umrao Jaan”, inspired by a character from an earlier Hindi motion picture. As per the petitioner, the expressions “Ya Allah! Rasgulla! Dahi Bhalla!” were used merely as rhyming exclamations, without any intention to insult or offend any religion or community.

Reasoning

Taking note of the context of the program, the Bench stated, “A comedy show is not judged by the same standards as a doctrinal speech or a political statement. A performance of this nature is to be read as a whole, and not by selecting stray expressions from it.”

The Bench explained that Section 295A of the Indian Penal Code is not attracted by every utterance which may annoy some person or group. “The language of the section itself speaks of deliberate and malicious intention of outraging the religious feelings of a class of citizens. Both elements are necessary. The intention must be deliberate, and it must also be malicious. If one of them is absent, the offence will not be fully made out. In the present case, from the complaint and from the episode as described, I do not find any material showing such deliberate or malicious intention on the part of either Petitioner. The performance appears to have been made in a theatrical manner, with the object of entertainment. That does not by itself create criminality”, it stated.

The Bench also noted that the role of Shekhar Suman was that he was functioning as a Judge in the programme, and the complaint did not disclose that he uttered the alleged words in any active manner, or that he shared any common design to insult a religion. As per the petitioner, the same was substantially true for Bharati Singh, who was acting in a performance under a theme of comic entertainment.

“The complaint proceeds more on the reaction of a section of audience. The words complained of, taken in the setting of a comedy programme, do not by themselves establish deliberate and malicious intention. The absence of sanction under Section 196 adds an additional legal defect. Both these aspects together make the prosecution infirm”, it added.

Considering that the complaint itself did not disclose the ingredients and the mandatory sanction was not shown, the Bench held that the continuation of criminal proceedings would amount to misuse of process. Thus, allowing the criminal petitions, the Bench qaushed the FIR as well as all the consequential proceedings.

Cause Title: Shekhar Suman v. The State of Maharashtra and Others (Case No.: Writ Petition No. 1902 of 2012)

Appearance

Petitioner: Senior Advocate Niteen Pradhan, Advocate P. D. Desai

Respondent: Additional Public Prosecutor Megha Bajoria

Click here to read/download Order


Bombay High CourtJustice Amit Borkar

Tulip Kanth

Assistant Editor

Tulip Kanth is an Assistant Editor at Verdictum having over 5 years of experience in the field of legal journalism and editing. She extensively covers judgments of the Supreme Court, High Courts as well as Tribunals. She has previously worked with a legal publishing website where she oversaw the work of other editors and has also created updates on notifications of different Government Ministries. She holds an English Honours Degree from SGTB Khalsa College, Delhi University and has completed her LLB course with specialisation in Corporate Law from Amity University.