Bengaluru. Just imagine, if you stole someone’s wallet or rioted on the road, the law can easily grant you bail from the police station or the court. But if you write something on social media that causes ’emotional hurt’ to someone, then you can be sent straight to jail. And bail will also not be available easily. This is not a joke, but the hate speech law passed in the Karnataka Assembly on Thursday. People are calling it black law on social media. Some even said, if you riot, you will get bail, but if you scold, you will get 7 years in jail… This is a wonderful law.
‘Dead or alive’ all in scope
The most controversial thing about this law is that the scope of hate speech has been greatly expanded in it. According to the bill, any expression, whether spoken, written, in signs, or visual. If it is through social media, if its intention is to create a feeling of hurt, disharmony, enmity or hatred against any living or dead person, any class or community, then it will be considered a crime. This means that now if you say something bitter about any historical character or dead leader, and it hurts the sentiments of any group, then this law can apply to you.
real crime vs crime of speaking
To understand the shortcomings of this law, we have to compare the punishment of actual crimes under the Indian Code of Justice (BNS) or the old IPC and this new law of Karnataka. Opposition leader R. Ashok also raised the same issue in the House that when there are already provisions in BNS, then what was the need for this new law?
That means if you riot on the road with sticks, you can get less punishment and early bail. But if someone’s sentiments are hurt by your social media post or speech, you can go behind bars for 7 years.
Opposition’s attack – police will become Hitler
There was a huge uproar while the bill was being passed in the Assembly. Opposition leader R. Ashok called this law an attack on freedom of expression. He said, this law will turn the police into ‘Hitler’. There will be no bail in this, only jail. What else can we expect from those who imposed emergency on this country?
R. Ashoka warned that this law is a Brahmastra against the opposition. He said that the opposition will be the first victim of this and then it will be the media’s turn. He also taunted that the state does not have as many jails as would be required to make arrests under this law.
5 most dangerous things about this law
- The law on emotional injury and cartoons also covers not only words, but also signs and pictures. This means that even cartoons published in newspapers or social media memes can now become a reason for going to jail. BJP leader R. Ashok claimed that this is a direct attack on digital freedom and freedom of the press.
- Is it a crime to quote religious books? A very complicated question came up during the debate. BJP MLA V. Sunil Kumar asked what would happen if someone quotes hateful content from a religious book? On this, Home Minister ji. God’s answer was shocking. He said, those books published in the past will also come under the purview of this law. This means that if you reference an old religious or historical book that the government considers hateful, you may be booked.
- Fear of extortion: The opposition alleges that this law will be used by the police and mischievous elements for extortion. Since this law is so strict and bail is difficult to obtain, people may be forced to pay money to avoid police action.
- The government has cited the Supreme Court for bringing this bill. Home Minister Mr. Parameshwara said that the Supreme Court has taken a strict stand against hate speech and said that it cannot be tolerated. The minister argued that hate speech leads to murders and spreads social unrest, hence this law will bring a big change in the society. But critics say that the Supreme Court had asked to stop hatred, not to crush freedom of expression.
- During the discussion on the bill, Urban Development Minister Byrathi Suresh made a controversial statement that coastal Karnataka is burning due to hate speech and hate crimes. On this, BJP MLAs reacted sharply and came to the well of the House and demanded an apology. This incident itself proves how political the definition of hate speech can be, what one side considers to be truth, the other side may call it hate speech.
