The Allahabad High Court has ruled that a social media post praising Pakistan does not amount to sedition under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) while granting bail to a man accused of sharing such a message.
 
In its order dated September 26, the court said that while such posts may provoke anger or disharmony, they do not fall within the ambit of Section 152 of the BNS, which deals with offences endangering India’s sovereignty.

The bail order was issued in favour of Meerut resident Sajid Chaudhary, who had been arrested on May 13 for allegedly forwarding a post that read, “Kamran Bhatti Proud of You, Pakistan Zindabad.” He was booked under Section 152 of the BNS and had been in jail since then, according to news agency PTI..

During the hearing, Chaudhary’s counsel argued that he had merely forwarded the message without creating or writing it, and that there was no intention to incite hatred or disturb public order, The Times of India reported.

His counsel also pointed out that Chaudhary had no previous criminal record and posed no risk if granted bail. In contrast, the government counsel claimed that he was a “separatist” with a history of such activities.

Justice Santosh Rai, while allowing the bail plea, observed that “while such a message on social media may provoke anger or disharmony, it could be punishable under Section 196 (promoting enmity) of the BNS. But it did not attract the stringent provisions of Section 152 of the BNS.”

The court further noted that Section 152 of the BNS is a newly introduced provision with no direct equivalent in the Indian Penal Code (IPC), and cautioned that it should be invoked only with reasonable care.

It also remarked that the prosecution had not provided any evidence to establish that Chaudhary had made a statement against India’s sovereignty or integrity.