Media & Hate speech

 Hate speech has not been defined in any law in India. However, legal provisions in certain legislations prohibit

selected forms of speech as an exception to freedom of speech.

 India does not have a formal legal framework for dealing with hate speech. However, a cluster of

provisions, loosely termed hate speech laws, are invoked. These are mainly laws to deal with offenses against

religions.

 Section 295-A of the IPC and other similar laws address the problem of hate speech in India.

 Section 295-A defines and prescribes punishment for deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage the

religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs.

 In the context of discussing the limits of free speech and what may be tantamount to hate speech the Supreme

Court held in the Amish Devgan Case that "Historical truths must be discussed without in any way disclosing

or encouraging hatred -or enmity between different classes or communities."

 The Court has held that hate speech should have no redeeming purpose, which means that "the speech

primarily carries no meaning other than hatred towards a particular group'.

 This is necessarily subjective and requires an examination of good faith and good motives on the part of the

speaker. The Court has asked that we should not be ‘hyper-sensitive men’ so as to be offended quickly