How Can Chanting 'Jai Shri Ram' in a Mosque Be a Crime?" Supreme Court Shakes Up Debate on Religious Slogans

New Delhi (The Uttam Hindu): The Supreme Court has raised important questions regarding the criminality of chanting the slogan "Jai Shri Ram" inside a mosque. This inquiry came during a hearing on a petition related to an incident at a mosque in Karnataka, where two individuals allegedly raised the slogan within the premises. The petition challenged the Karnataka High Court's decision, which had overturned actions taken against the accused. During the hearing, a bench comprising Justices Pankaj Mittal and Sandeep Mehta asked, "How can chanting a religious slogan be considered a criminal act?" The court questioned the very basis of charging individuals for expressing religious phrases.

The petition had been filed by Haider Ali, who had argued that this act had caused harm to religious sentiments. The Supreme Court sought clarification on how the individuals involved were identified and raised concerns about the validity of the accusations. The bench further asked the petitioner's senior counsel, Devdutt Kamat, how the accused were identified from the CCTV footage, noting that it was unclear who had identified them. The court pointed out that the Karnataka High Court had found no applicability of sections 503 (criminal intimidation) and 447 (criminal trespass) of the Indian Penal Code in this case. Kamat explained that the FIR was not a comprehensive encyclopedia of crimes and that the state police needed to provide more clarity on the issue.

The Supreme Court postponed the case until January 2025, requesting the petitioner to submit a copy of the petition to the state authorities for review. The bench also noted that the High Court had questioned the harm caused by the slogan in the first place, emphasizing that no public disturbance had been created during the incident. The High Court had dismissed the case earlier, stating that raising a religious slogan like "Jai Shri Ram" could not be considered offensive or harmful, particularly when no disturbance had occurred. The incident in question took place on September 24, 2023, when two unidentified individuals allegedly entered a mosque and began chanting the slogan, leading to the filing of an FIR at the Kadaba police station. The petitioners sought the cancellation of the FIR, arguing that no criminal offense had taken place.