Criticism of government cannot be ground for penal action: Supreme Court

New Delhi, Dec 08: Criticism of the government even in the strongest terms must be protected from criminal prosecution under charges of hate speech or public mischief, the Supreme Court has said.

Justices A M Khanwilkar and Sanjiv Khanna in a 128 page order held that disloyalty to the government by law and comments was not an offence, if it did not call for violence and public disorder.

The court was hearing a petition which sought quashing of an FIR against News 18 TV anchor Amish Devgan for his alleged defamatory remark against Sufi saint Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti during a show on June 15.

SC refuses to quash FIRs against news anchor for Sufi saint remark

Comment of criticism of the government action, in howsoever strong words, must be protected and cannot be a ground to take penal action unless the words written or spoken, etc have pernicious tendency or intention of creating public order the Bench said.

Law and policies are not democratic unless they have been made and subjected to democratic process including questioning and criticism, the Supreme Court further added.

"Dissent and criticism of the elected government's policy, when puissant, deceptive or even false would be ethically wrong, but would not invite penal action. Government should be left out from adjudicating what is true or false, good or bad, valid or invalid as these aspects should be left for open discussion in the public domain, the court said while adding that the elected representatives in power have the right to respond and dispel suspicion.

Disloyalty to the government by law and comments even in strong terms on the measures or acts of the government so as to ameliorate the condition of the people or to secure cancellation or alteration of those actions or measures by lawful means, without exciting of those feelings of enmity and disloyalty which imply excitement to public disorder or use of force, is not an offence Justices Khanwilkar and Khanna said.

The Bench also transferred all FIRs filed against Amish Devgan in different states, including Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, and Telangana, to Ajmer in Rajasthan.

The top court had earlier granted Amish Devgan protection from any coercive action in connection with the FIRs.

Several FIRs were lodged against Amish Devgan for using a derogatory term for the Sufi saint in the news debate show called "Aar Paar" on his channel on June 15. Amish Devgan later tweeted an apology saying he was actually referring to Muslim ruler Alauddin Khilji and inadvertently ended up naming Chisti.