'Academic Opinion': Rajasthan HC Dismisses Student's Plea Alleging Exam Question On Ram Janmbhoomi Verdict outrages religious sentiments.
Jaipur, Rajasthan: The Rajasthan High Court has dismissed a petition filed by a law student against some questions in his university exam paper regarding the Supreme Court’s 2019 judgment in the Ayodhya Babari Mosque – Ram Janmabhoomi case.
While rejecting the plea, the court pointed out fair criticism of the verdict is permissible, and underlined that “academic opinion” can’t be considered as an attack on religion, Live Law reported.
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Challenging some passages in the question paper, the student argued that the comments in the paper were inflammatory which might provoke religious sentiments, violating Section 295A IPC. However, the court contended the claim stating that challenging certain portions of a question paper solely on the grounds that it hurts religious sentiments is “not legally sustainable.”
Hearing the case, a bench of Justice Anoop Kumar Dhand stated that an academic or personal opinion expressed by a student or teacher, or scholar or legal judgement can’t be equated with any religious attack, even if it involves sensitive issues.
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“If a citizen writes an essay or critique on a verdict of the Court, reflecting personal interpretation, the same must be viewed as a positive and constructive exercise in legal reasoning and critical analysis, so long as it does not amount to contempt of Court,” the Court observed.
The question paper can be challenged only if the content was included with deliberate and malicious intent to outrage religious feelings, the court pointed out. The bench further highlighted that content was included with deliberate and malicious intent to outrage religious feelings. The court noted that no other student who attempted the question paper had raised any objection to the content of the question except the petitioner.
The court stressed the importance of the right to freedom of speech, underscoring that whatever question was asked in the examination paper was merely an expression of the view of the Examiner.
