TMI Blog2017 (4) TMI 1565X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... malicious intention to outrage the religious feelings of that class do not come within the Section - Emphasis has been laid on the calculated tendency of the said aggravated form of insult and also to disrupt the public order to invite the penalty. There is no hesitation in holding that the allegations remotely do not satisfy the essential ingredients of the offence and, therefore, applying the principle stated in STATE OF HARYANA VERSUS BHAJAN LAL [ 1990 (11) TMI 386 - SUPREME COURT] , the complaint proceedings initiated against the Petitioner is quashed. In the case at hand, as the complaint is quashed, needless to say, for the reasons for which the complaint is quashed shall squarely apply to the co-accused, who is the Editor of the magazine. Therefore, the same principle is applied and the complaint even against co-accused is quashed. Petition disposed off. - TRANSFER PETITION (CRIMINAL) NO. 23 OF 2016 - - - Dated:- 20-4-2017 - DIPAK MISRA, A.M. KHANWILKAR AND MOHAN M. SHANTANAGOUDAR, JJ. JUDGMENT Dipak Misra, J. 1. The present transfer petition was filed seeking transfer of proceedings in Complaint Case No. 1320 of 2015 titled as Yerraguntla Shyms ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... e town Police Station to lodge an F.I.R. on 22.1.2013 but as the police declined to register the same, he was compelled to file a complaint petition Under Section 200 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. The learned Magistrate entertained the same and issued summons. 5. The seminal issue that arises for consideration is whether the allegations made in the complaint constitute an offence Under Section 295A of the Indian Penal Code and whether this Court, in the obtaining factual matrix, relegate the trial at some other place or grant him liberty to file an application Under Section 482 Code of Criminal Procedure for quashing. At this juncture, we may refer to Section 295A of the Indian Penal Code which reads as follows: 295A. Deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs.-- Whoever, with deliberate and malicious intention of outraging the religious feelings of any class of [citizens of India], [by words, either spoken or written, or by signs or by visible representations or otherwise], insults or attempts to insult the religion or the religious beliefs of that class, shall be punished with impri ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... aining variety will not fall within that clause. The argument then concludes that so long as the possibility of the law being applied for purposes not sanctioned by the Constitution cannot be ruled out, the entire law should be held to be unconstitutional and void. We are unable, in view of the language used in the impugned section, to accede to this argument. In the first place el. (2) of Article 19 protects a law imposing reasonable restrictions on the exercise of the right to freedom of speech and expression in the interests of public order, which is much wider than for maintenance of public order. If, therefore, certain activities have a tendency to cause public disorder, a law penalising such activities as an offence cannot but be held to be a law imposing reasonable restriction in the interests of public order although in some cases those activities may not actually lead to a breach of public order. In the next place Section 295A does not penalise any and every act of insult to or attempt to insult the religion or the religious beliefs of a class of citizens but it penalises only those acts of insults to or those varieties of attempts to insult the religion or the relig ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... religious feelings of that class. Emphasis has been laid on the calculated tendency of the said aggravated form of insult and also to disrupt the public order to invite the penalty. 8. Ms. Liz Mathews learned Counsel for the Appellant contends that the allegations, if read in entirety, do not satisfy the essential ingredients of the offence and, therefore, there is no justification that the Appellant should be compelled to face the trial. It is also her submission that on the doctrine of parity, (as similar complaint has been quashed) the original proceeding arising within a different territorial jurisdiction deserves to be quashed. 9. Mr. Jaideep Singh, learned Counsel appearing for the complainant, Respondent No. 1, submitted that if the test, as provided by the Constitution Bench, is applied, the complaint may not meet the standards but there is some allegation which may be considered for the purpose of offence. 10. To satisfy ourselves, we have bestowed our anxious consideration and scrutinized the allegations made in the complaint petition and we have no hesitation in holding that the allegations remotely do not satisfy the essential ingredients of the offence and, t ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... his power must necessarily be sparingly used only in exceptional circumstances for furthering the ends of justice. Having regard to the facts and circumstances of this case, I am of the opinion that this is a fit case where this Court should entertain the present petition of Harbans Singh and this Court should interfere. Be it noted, similar view has been taken in Akhil ali Jehangir Ali Sayyed v. State of Maharashtra (2003) 2 SCC 708. 13. In the case at hand, as the complaint is quashed, needless to say, for the reasons for which the complaint is quashed shall squarely apply to the co-accused, who is the Editor of the magazine. Therefore, we apply the same principle and quash the complaint even against co-accused. We may hasten to clarify that we have passed the order of quashment keeping in view the criminal miscellaneous petition filed in this case for quashing and also not to allow more space for abuse of the process of the Court. 14. Before parting with the case, we would like to sound a word of caution that the Magistrates who have been conferred with the power of taking cognizance and issuing summons are required to carefully scrutinize whether the allegations made i ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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