Delhi Court: Prior Sanction Needed in Case Against Hate Speech
New Delhi, 4th December 2022: A Delhi court has denied a request to file an FIR against a person for allegedly making degrading comments against the Buddhist community, stating that prior approval from the appropriate authority is necessary for the court’s direction.
The court was hearing a petition from attorney Satya Prakash Gautam seeking to file an FIR against Swami Ram Bhadracharya for allegedly using “insulting and derogatory words against Lord Buddha and against the Buddhist community, which created an atmosphere of disharmony in the society.”
According to the order passed on Friday (December 2), Metropolitan Magistrate Ajeet Narayan stated, “Admittedly, there is no prior sanction obtained by the complainant in this case from the competent authority, therefore given the settled provision of law the complaint stands dismissed being not maintainable due to lack of sanction.”
The court stated that in light of a recent Delhi High Court decision, an adequate government sanction was required for an inquiry and a directive to file an FIR following the provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) in cases involving hate speech, among other things.
