Calling someone ‘bastard’ in anger is not obscene: Supreme Court

In a ruling that draws a clear line between abuse and obscenity, the Supreme Court of India has said that simply using the word “bastard” in a heated exchange does not amount to an offence under Section 294 of the IPC. The court said such language, without any sexual or prurient element, cannot be treated as obscene, a TOI report stated.

What the court said

A bench of Justices P S Narasimha and Manoj Misra explained that obscenity has to be understood in a specific legal sense, not just as offensive or rude speech.

"...in our view, mere use of the word 'bastard', by itself, is not sufficient to arouse prurient interest of a person. More so when such words are commonly used in the modern era during heated conversations," the bench said.

How obscenity is defined

The court pointed out that the IPC does not clearly define “obscene” or “obscenity”. So, judges rely on earlier rulings to interpret what qualifies as obscene material.

It said past judgments have consistently held that obscenity must be judged based on contemporary social standards and prevailing norms.

Vulgar is not always obscene

Quoting from earlier rulings, the court underlined a key distinction: "...It is well established from the precedents cited that vulgarity and profanities do not per se amount to obscenity. While a person may find vulgar and expletive-filled language to be distasteful, unpalatable, uncivil, and improper, that by itself is not sufficient to be "obscene". Obscenity relates to material that arouses sexual and lustful thoughts, which is not at all the effect of the abusive language or profanities that have been employed in the episode rather, such language may evoke disgust, revulsion, or shock. ...,"

The ruling signals that not all offensive speech crosses into criminal territory. The court has drawn a line between language that may be socially unacceptable and content that is legally punishable.

In simple terms: rude words may offend, but unless they trigger sexual or prurient thoughts, they do not meet the legal test of obscenity.

(Source: TOI)