Legal Context of Obscenity in India
Founder of the YouTube channel ‘Beer Biceps’, is under a Mumbai police probe due to alleged obscene comments during a YouTube show.Despite no FIR from Mumbai police, Assam police registered a complaint citing "obscene acts" under Section 296 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (BNS).
Governing Laws on Obscenity
- Section 294 of the BNS: Addresses obscene material that is "lascivious or appeals to the prurient interest."
- Punishment: Up to two years imprisonment and a fine of Rs. 5,000 for first-time offenders.
- Section 67 of the Information Technology Act, 2000: Deals with publishing/transmitting obscene material online.
- Punishment: Up to three years imprisonment and a fine of Rs. 5 lakh for first-time offence.
Evolution of Court's Understanding of Obscenity
- Lady Chatterley's Lover Case: A landmark case for obscenity involving a book by D H Lawrence.
- 1964 Supreme Court of India ruling deemed it obscene under Section 292 of the IPC.
- Used the "Hicklin test" from Queen v. Hicklin (1868) to determine obscenity.
- Changes in UK and US standards:
- UK's 1959 Obscene Publications Act emphasized considering a work "as a whole."
- US's Roth v. United States (1957) adopted the "contemporary community standards" test.
- Aveek Sarkar v. State of West Bengal (2014): Indian Supreme Court adopted the "community standards" test.
Obscenity in Online Content
The Supreme Court addressed obscenity in online content for cases like the YouTube series "College Romance," emphasizing the difference between obscene and vulgar language.
- Court highlighted that obscenity involves material arousing sexual thoughts, not merely foul language.
- The community standards test was applied to assess whether the content arouses sexual feelings.
Current Case Considerations
The ongoing case against Allahbadia involves assessing whether his comments on the show were simply vulgar or genuinely obscene. Courts must consider the show as a whole to determine the intent and impact of the language used.