Calling Someone 'Miyan-Tiyan', 'Pakistani' Not An Offence: Supreme Court

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court declared on Tuesday that calling someone 'Miyan-Tiyan' or 'Pakistani' may be offensive, but it does not constitute to an offence of hurting religious sentiments. The statement was made by a bench of Justices BV Nagarathna and Satish Chandra Sharma while ending a case against a man accused of calling a government servant 'Pakistani.'

The complaint was filed by an Urdu translator and an acting clerk in Jharkhand. According to the complainant, when he visited the accused to provide information about a Right To Information (RTI) application, the latter abused him by referring to his religion and used criminal force to prevent the discharge of his official duties.

This resulted in a first information report against the man for offences under Sections 298 (hurting religious sentiments), 504 (insult with intent to provoke breach of peace), and 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharging duty) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

Turning down an order by the Jharkhand High Court, the top court said, "The appellant is accused of hurting the religious feelings of the informant by calling him 'Miyan-Tiyan' and 'Pakistani.' However, it does not amount to hurting the religious sentiments of the informant," the bench said. There was no act on the accused's part that could have provoked a breach of peace, as per the top court.

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