Using abusive language, swearing don't count as obscenity under IPC: Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of India ruled that using abusive or profane language does not automatically constitute the legal offense of obscenity. The court clarified that for language to be obscene, it must be lascivious, appeal to prurient interests, and have a tendency to corrupt.
Why it matters
This ruling provides a significant legal distinction between vulgarity and criminal obscenity, impacting how free speech and public conduct are interpreted under Indian law.
NEW DELHI: Drawing a distinction between using abuse language and the offence of obscenity, Supreme Court has said that use of mere swear words, profanities and vulgar expletives, however distasteful or uncivil they may be, cannot be equated with obscenity and is not an offence. It set aside conviction under Section 294 for a person who had used abusive slurs for mother and sister during an altercation.A bench of Justices Sanjay Karol and Vipul M Pancholi said obscenity which is an offence under IPC is not synonymous with "vulgarity", "abuse" or "profanity". "Words which are merely vulgar or abusive may evoke a feeling of disgust, revulsion or shock, but that by itself does not make them obscene in law. It is for this reason that this Court, through various judicial pronouncements, has held that the use of abusive, vulgar or profane language does not necessarily constitute obscenity.
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