PIL Seeking Guidelines to Curb Derogatory Remarks About Deceased

A public interest litigation (PIL) petition has been filed in the Bombay High Court seeking guidelines to prevent the circulation of derogatory remarks about deceased individuals through press or on social platforms.

The petition was prompted by alleged derogatory comments made by Hindu activist Sambhaji Bhide about Mahatma Gandhi.

The plea was brought before a division bench of Chief Justice DK Upadhyaya and Justice Arif Doctor and is anticipated to be scheduled for a hearing in the upcoming week.

The petitioners, including Maharashtra Gandhi Smarak Nidhi (MGSN) and several associated social workers, expressed concern over multiple instances where deliberate statements were directed towards deceased individuals who were highly respected. These statements are often disseminated without regulation across various social media platforms.

The petitioners argued that such remarks have the potential to disrupt the social and ethnic harmony of the country. Given that deceased individuals cannot respond to these comments and their heirs may overlook the offense, the petition highlighted the need for addressing this issue.

The plea stated, “There are many persons who belong to the very same religion, race/caste, and sex who make utterances, and although they belong to such groups, they actually do not want to share such type of utterances and such type of derogatory remarks but unfortunately either they are not strong enough to voice their concerns or they feel that even if they are right, the majority of the group to which they belong may not like them criticizing the person who has made such derogatory remarks.”

The petitioners contended that these incidents cause lasting harm to the unity of India as a nation. They further remarked that the actions taken by the Central or State governments, regardless of political affiliation, often tend to be insufficient or delayed.

As a result, the petition seeks to establish guidelines to prevent the circulation of derogatory remarks about deceased individuals, aiming to preserve the social fabric and unity of the nation.