The Supreme Court on March 7 quashed an FIR accusing a college professor in Maharashtra of spreading enmity and disharmony by terming the abrogation of Article 370 a “black day” and wishing “happy independence” to the people of Pakistan in a WhatsApp group of faculty and parents.
“Describing the day the abrogation happened as a ‘Black Day’ is an expression of protest and anguish. The right to dissent in a lawful manner must be treated as a part of the right to lead a dignified and meaningful life guaranteed by Article 21 of the Constitution,” Justice A.S. Oka, heading a Division Bench, observed in the judgment.
Justice Oka said a “simple protest” registered by the professor, Javed Ahmed Hajam, against the decision to abrogate Article 370 cannot be used by the police to lodge a case under Section 153A (promoting enmity among different classes of people) of the Indian Penal Code.
