Right to free speech doesn't cover hate: SC notice to 5 states; Centre on Wazahat Khan's plea to club cases

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court stressed Monday that "hate speech" is not covered under freedom of expression, even as it restrained police from four states from arresting Wazahat Khan, who was instrumental in the arrest of social media influencer Sharmistha Panoli for her communal posts on Pahalgam killings. FIRs have been lodged against him for posts on X expressing hate against Hindus.

On Khan's plea that the FIRs were in retaliation for his complaint against Panoli and his comments had been deleted, the bench said, "It is not so simple. All these comments are hate-mongering".

Wazahat Khan through senior advocate D S Naidu told a bench of Justices K V Viswanathan and N Kotiswar Singh the FIRs against his client were lodged as a retaliation against his complaint to West Bengal police against Panoli, leading to her arrest. He said Khan had made these comments in 2023, had since deleted them, and even posted a video apologising to "Hindu brothers and sisters".

Naidu said Khan is already in police and judicial custody in connection with two FIRs in West Bengal and pleaded for consolidation of the FIRs in one place as the SC had done in the past in many cases, when the FIRs have been lodged for the same offence. "He is perhaps reaping what he had sown" and learnt the lesson the hard way, the counsel said, mirroring Khan's repentance.

Though the bench restrained police from Delhi, Assam, Haryana and Maharashtra, where separate FIRs for the same posts of Khan had been lodged, from "taking any coercive step against him", it said these posts on social media cannot be said to be covered under right to free speech guaranteed under Article 19(1(a) of the Constitution.

"Your apology says the FIRs were a retaliation to you lodging a complaint against the social media influencer. We do not know where we are heading. Incitement to violence may not be only physical violence. It could be many other forms of violence. Hate speeches take us nowhere," Justice Viswanathan said.

He reminded Khan's counsel about a proverb - "A wound inflicted by fire may heal, but not the one inflicted with tongue". The bench issued notice to all five states, including West Bengal, and to the Union govt on Khan's plea for consolidating the FIRs in one state, or on the alternative, club the FIRs in one state at one place within the state concerned.

The bench posted further hearing on July 14.