Supreme Court Rules That Calling Indian Muslims "Pakistani, or Miyan" Not Amount To Offences.
Bokaro, Jharkhand: Disassociating someone from their country is, of course, provocative, especially when it is used as a slur. Several Muslims in India face similar slurs as right-wing groups call them “Pakistanis” in many instances. Recently, the Supreme Court of India ruled that using the term “miyan-tiyan” or “Pakistani” does not constitute a criminal offence while quashing a criminal proceeding against an elderly man accused of making such comments.
The top court, however, noted that such remarks may be in poor taste but does not constitute as criminal acts intended to wound religious sentiments.
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The elderly man was accused of hurting the religious feelings of the informant by calling him ‘Miyan-Tiyan’ and ‘Pakistani.’. The word “Miyan-Tiyan” is being used as a slur in Assam against Assamese Muslims of Bengali heritage as migrants from West Bengal or illegal immigrants from Bangladesh.
However, the bench comprising justices BV Nagarathna and Satish Chandra Sharma stated that the act does not amount to an offence or to hurting religious sentiments.
The court was hearing the case registered in Jharkhand’s Bokaro based on a complaint by an Urdu translator and RIT acting clerk Muhammed Shamim Uddin. He accused Hari Nandan Singh, an 80-year-old man, of insulting him using communal slurs and exerting criminal force while he, Shamim Uddin, was performing his duty.
Upon receiving complaint from the victim, the police registered a FIR under Sections 298 (hurting religious sentiments), 504 (intentional insult to provoke breach of peace), 506 (criminal intimidation), 353 (assault to deter public servant from duty), and 323 (voluntarily causing hurt) of the IPC.
After completing the probe, the police filed a charge sheet. In July 2021, the magistrate took cognizance of the offences and summoned the accused. Though accused challenged the charges slated against him before the Bokaro Additional Sessions Judge and the Jharkhand High Court, it failed. Eventually, the accused approached the Supreme Court to get relieved of the charges.
The Supreme Court, in its judgment delivered on February 11, noted that one of the constituents of the alleged offences was met in the FIR while referring to its precedent in the 2010 Sajjan Kumar vs. CBI case. Thus, after examining the accused’s remarks, the Court, found no basis for criminal charges under Sections 298, 504, and 353 of the IPC in the case. On the charge of using criminal force against the complainant, the court found no concrete material to indicate the crime in a manner that would justify a charge under Section 353 IPC.
The court held that the mere use of derogatory words does not necessarily amount to an offence unless there is a direct and imminent threat of public disorder. However, the court has termed the accused’s remarks as inappropriate.
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In 2018, the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi urged the Union Government to bring legislation to give punishment to any person who calls Indian Muslim, “Pakistani.” While speaking in the Lok Sabha, he had demanded a three-year jail term for such crimes, denoting that Muslims living in India had rejected Mohammad Ali Jinnah’s two-nation theory. The Hyderabad MP had also expressed pessimism that the BJP government would not bring such laws.
The judgment has left many wondering if the court made it acceptable to mock Indian Muslims by calling them ‘Pakistanis’, thinking that the court’s observation might embolden the right-wing groups to further attack Muslims without fearing any consequences.
