SC declared fundamental right to speech cannot be misused to abuse nationally revered figures

The Supreme Court of India (SC) on 16 April 2015 declared that the fundamental right to speech and expression as provided by the Article 19 (1) of the Indian Constitution should not be misused to abuse nationally revered figures like Mahatma Gandhi and Subash Chandra Bose.

The SC further stated that, one cannot resort to abusive language against historical figures in the guise of artistic expression to accentuate sensationalism.

The judgment was delivered by a SC bench of Justice Dipak Misra and Justice Prafulla C Pant while hearing a plea of Vasant Dattatraya Gujar, who was facing criminal charges for writing an objectionable poem on Mahatma Gandhi.

The marathi poem, Gandhi Mala Bhetla Hota (I Met Gandhi), was published in the in-house magazine of the Bank of Maharashtra Employees Union in 1994. The poem depicts Gandhi as the narrator, who uses obscene language in the poem.