The Allahabad High Court has held that expressing support for Pakistan, without referring to India or any particular incident, does not constitute a criminal offence under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

The judgment came while hearing a bail plea by Riyaz, an 18-year-old who had been booked under Section 152 of the BNS. The section pertains to actions that endanger the sovereignty, unity, and integrity of India.

Riyaz was arrested after he posted an Instagram story that read:
"Chahe jo ho jai sport to bas...Pakistan ka karenge"
 ("Whatever happens, we will support only... Pakistan")

Justice Arun Kumar Singh Deshwal, who presided over the case, observed that the post did not mention India or show any disrespect towards the country.

In the order, the court noted: "Merely showing support to Pakistan without referring to any incident or mentioning the name of India, will not prima facie attract the offence under Section 152 BNS."

The court said, “Section 152 BNS is a new Section providing stringent punishment and there was no corresponding section in IPC, therefore, before invoking the Section 152 BNS, reasonable care and standards of reasonable person should be adopted as spoken words or posts on social media is also covered by the liberty of freedom of speech and expression, which should not be narrowly construed unless it is of such nature which affect the sovereignty and integrity of a country or encourages separatism.”

The court, while allowing the bail application, observed, “For attracting the ingredients of Section 152 BNS, there must be purpose by spoken or written words, signs, visible representations, the electronic communication to promote secession, armed rebellion, subversive activities or encourages feeling of separating activities or endangers the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India. Therefore merely posting a message to simply show support of any country may create anger or disharmony among citizens of India and may also be punishable under Section 196 BNS which is punishable up to seven years but definitively will not attract the ingredients of Section 152 BNS.”

According to Section 152 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), anyone who intentionally or knowingly uses spoken or written words, signs, images, online posts, financial support, or any other method to:

  • promote or try to promote secession,

  • encourage armed rebellion or anti-national activities, or

  • support separatist ideas,

will face life imprisonment or a jail term of up to seven years, and may also have to pay a fine.


You might also be interested in - Allahabad HC grants bail to ex-officer accused of killing wife, after 9 months in jail