Section 153A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC)

The Constitution of India guarantees certain basic fundamental rights to its citizens. The most instrumental is the right to life, the right to equality and the right to freedom of speech and expression as provided under Article 21, Article 14 and Article 19 respectively.

However, it is equally important that such rights are not misused by the citizens. For this particular reason, the legislation has various laws that not only act as safeguards to any potential misuse of these fundamental rights but also ensure harmony among different cultural and ethnic groups.

The Indian Penal Code,1860 (IPC) provides for various provisions in the form of restrictions or penalties. Section 153 and 153A of the IPC strive to punish those who spread any form of religious enmity under the umbrella of the right to freedom of speech and expression.

Section 153A of IPC

• Section 153A IPC attempts to punish those who engage in promoting any kind of enmity among different groups on the basis of religion, caste, race, place of birth or residence, or even language. The provision puts a liability on those who-
  1. Spread enmity in the form of words (spoken or written), visual representations, and signs with the intention of causing disharmony, hatred or disturbance among people belonging to different groups, religions, castes or communities.
  2. Spread disharmony and disturb the public tranquillity of the people belonging to different racial and religious groups.
  3. Aid in the organising of certain movements, drills that encourage as well as train the participants of such movements to use criminal force and violence upon people belonging to other racial and religious groups and communities.

Origin of Section 153A

• Pre-independence:
  • In the pre-Independence Rangila Rasool case, the Punjab High Court had acquitted the Hindu publisher of a tract that had made disparaging remarks about the private life of the Prophet, and had been charged under Section 153A.
• Post-independence:
  • The provision was enacted in 1898 and was not in the original penal code. 
  • At the time of the amendment, promoting class hatred was a part of the English law of sedition, but was not included in the Indian law.

Issue of low conviction

• Data from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) show that the rate of conviction for Section 153A is very low.
• In 2020, 1,804 cases were registered, six times higher than the 323 cases in 2014. 
• However, the conviction rate in 2020 was 20.2%, suggesting that the process often becomes the punishment.

Safeguards against misuse

• Given that the provisions are worded broadly, there are safeguards against its misuse. 
  • Prior sanction:
    • For example, Sections 153A and 153B require prior sanction from the government for initiating prosecution. 
    • But this is required before the trial begins, and not at the stage of preliminary investigation.
  • Supreme Court’s guidelines:
    • No automatic arrest for sentence of fewer than seven years:
      • To curb indiscriminate arrests, the Supreme Court laid down a set of guidelines in its 2014 ruling in Arnesh Kumar vs State of Bihar. 
      • As per the guidelines, for offences that carry a sentence of fewer than seven years, the police cannot automatically arrest an accused before investigation.
    • Proving intent: 
      • In a 2021 ruling, the SC said that the state will have to prove intent for securing a conviction under Section 153A.