Madras HC Quashes Criminal Defamation Case For Cartoon Published On Facebook As Court Cannot Teach Ethics To People

What Did The Court Say

• The Court cannot teach ethics to people. It is for society to follow ethical standards.
• Freedom of thought and expressions are the foundations of democracy.
• The controversy was not over the expression but rather the way and manner of expression which was problematic.
• While some may feel that the cartoon was an over exaggeration and obscene, others may understand it to be indifference of the authorities towards the people.
• The intention of the Petitioner was to create awareness about the carelessness of the authorities and not cause humiliation.

What Was The Cartoon About

• The case was Balamurugan V. State, where the Petitioner had published a cartoon on his Facebook page regarding the self-immolation incident that had taken place in 2017 outside the District Collector’s Office.
• The cartoon portrayed the nude figures of the District Collector, Superintendent of the Police, and the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu watching the immolation.
• The immolation had taken place due to exorbitant rates charged by a money lender.

What Charges Were Filed

• A complaint was filed based on the grounds of Section 501 of the IPC (criminal defamation) and Section 67 of the IT Act, 2000 (publishing or transmitting obscene material in electronic form).
• A petition to drop the FIR was then filed by the accused.

What are your thoughts on the Court’s Order? Let us know what your take is down in the comments!