Use of swear words and vulgar expletives does not amount to obscenity, Supreme Court rules
They publishedUse Of Swear Words, Vulgar Expletives Doesn't Amount To Obscenity: Supreme Court
First reportIn · 19 Jul, 08:20Z
Latest reportNdtv · 19 Jul, 09:32Z
Span1 hours · two reports
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Why it matters
What
The Supreme Court ruled that using swear words and vulgar expletives alone does not amount to obscenity under IPC Section 294.
Why
The decision clarifies the legal boundary between abusive language and obscenity criteria.
Watch
Watch how courts apply this standard to future cases involving vulgar expletives and alleged obscenity under IPC Section 294.
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How it unfolded — every article
Summary
- Supreme Court clarified that abusive, insulting, or offensive language alone isn’t obscenity under Section 294 IPC.
- Justices Sanjay Karol and Vipul Pancholi said obscenity requires sexually explicit content or depraving tendencies.
- Case involved a 70-year-old appellant convicted over an expletive during a Tamil Nadu land dispute.
- Incident occurred in August 2017, with caste-based slurs and a weapon attack fracturing the complainant’s nose.
- Court acquitted on obscenity and criminal intimidation, reduced sentence, and ordered a Rs 50,000 fine in two months.