Madhya Pradesh High Court: WhatsApp message within the same religion/community not an offense under Sections 153A and 505(5) IPC; two distinct religious groups needed for an offense.
Justice Vivek Rusia, a single-judge bench, reviewed an application under Section 482 CrPC to dismiss proceedings stemming from a WhatsApp message about the 'Ram Navami' festival, sent by the accused to the complainant on 15.04.2022.
The bench in Indore clarified that the complainant received the WhatsApp message but did not make it public or share it with members of other religions or communities. Citing the Supreme Court's decision in the Patricia Mukhim case, the bench concluded that no charge is established.
The applicant's counsel argued that both the applicant and the complainant share the same community and religion. The message and its transmission did not involve members of other religions. Furthermore, it was asserted that the accused lacked the necessary intent (mens rea) to stir up enmity or hatred between two religions through this text message.
In this case, the complainant received a WhatsApp message from the applicant-accused, which included a comment about celebrating a specific festival. The complainant believed that this text had the potential to incite enmity and hatred between two religious groups. The police initiated an FIR against the applicant-accused based on a screenshot of the message, charging them under Section 505 and 153-A IPC. Subsequently, in a statement recorded under Section 161 CrPC, the complainant claimed that the applicant-accused had also forwarded the sensitive message to a WhatsApp community of tribals.
The court noted that the complainant had shown the contentious text message to other local residents, even though he was not expected to do so.
TAGS: court observed complainant controversial text message local residents.
