Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi, Jan 3: The Supreme Court on Tuesday held that under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution, ministers, MPs, and MLAs have the same rights to free expression as other people and that further or extra limits cannot be placed on their constitutionally protected right to free speech.
Judges S. Abdul Nazeer, AS Bopanna, BR Gavai, V. Ramasubramanian, and BV Nagarathna, who made up a Constitution Bench, ruled that the restrictions on the freedom of speech of public officials cannot exceed those outlined in Article 19(2) of the Constitution, which are exhaustive and apply to all citizens.
“Additional restrictions not found under Article 19(2) cannot be imposed on the exercise of article 19(1)(a)…Grounds mentioned in Article 19(2) for restricting free speech are exhaustive. Additional restrictions not found in Article 19(2) cannot be imposed on the exercise of right under 19(1)(a),” the Court held.
The decision was made in a series of arguments pertaining to the extent of public officials’ freedom of speech and whether stricter limitations can be placed on it in the interest of people’ rights to life and personal freedom.
The Court ruled that a minister’s comments about the government or its business could not be used to indirectly represent the government.
“A mere statement by a minister inconsistent with the rights of citizen does not form to be a constitutional tort but if it leads to omission or commission of offence by a public official then it is a constitutional tort,” the Constitution bench ruled.
Following remarks made by Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan regarding the 2016 gang rape of a young girl and her mother in Uttar Pradesh, the mention of a five-judge bench came up.
Khan criticised the complainant for claiming that she was not receiving justice and dubbed the affair a political scheme and publicity stunt.
The survivor’s father subsequently filed a petition asking for a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) investigation and requesting that the trial take place outside of the State.
It was argued that Khan’s remarks had harmed both the two survivors’ reputations and the likelihood of a fair trial. The seasoned politician quickly extended a sincere apology.
