The petition dealt with the misuse of the right of freedom of speech and expression, as provided under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution, by public functionaries who made distasteful remarks against certain individuals who were the victims of a crime. The grounds lined up in Art. 19(2) for restricting the right to free speech are exhaustive. Freedom of an individual under Art. 19(1)(a) cannot be subjected to additional restrictions not found in Art. 19(2) by invoking other fundamental rights, or, under the guise of two fundamental rights taking a competing claim against each other. Whenever two or more fundamental rights appeared either to be on a collision course or to be seeking preference over one another, the Court has dealt with the same by applying well-established legal tools. But under the guise of invoking other fundamental rights, additional restrictions, over and above those prescribed in Art. 19(2), cannot be imposed upon the exercise of the right to freedom of speech and expression protected under Art. 19(1)(a). The Constitution Bench held that the Freedom of Speech of public officials cannot be restricted in favour of another person’s fundamental rights. All those who are aware of what happened that night on NH 91 and further Mr. Azam Khan’s remark on that, firmly acknowledge his statement to be cruel, inhumane, and insensitive. However, they held that the State has an obligation to protect the fundamental rights of citizen’s even against non-state actors such as other private persons. Liberty must come by the Law.

[Kaushal Kishor v. State of U.P., (2023) 4 SCC 1]

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

error: Do not copy the content of this website.

Terms And condition

The rules of the Bar Council of India prohibit law firms from soliciting work or advertising in any manner. By clicking on ‘I AGREE’, the user acknowledges that:

  1. The user wishes to gain more information about Re Legal, its practice areas for his/her own information and use
  2. That the information provided in the website is only for personal use or reference of the visitor and is provided only on his/her specific request.
  3. That the material available for downloading on the website and other information provided on the website would not create any lawyer-client relationship.
  4. That we are not responsible for any consequence of any action taken by the user relying on material/information provided under this website.
  5. That in case the visitor has any legal issues; he or she should seek independent legal advice.

The information provided under this website is for informational purposes only and solely available at your request. It should not be interpreted as soliciting or advertising.