Court dismisses complaint against Kailash Kher for hurting religious sentiments
What's the story
The Bombay High Court has dismissed a complaint against singer Kailash Kher, who was accused of hurting religious sentiments with his song Babam Bam on Lord Shiva. The complaint, filed by Narinder Makkar in Ludhiana, alleged the song's video featured "vulgar" content. However, the court ruled there was no deliberate or malicious intent on Kher's part and the lyrics were simply a praise of Lord Shiva.
Legal proceedings
High court's ruling emphasized the importance of dissent
The bench, including Justices Bharati Dangre and S.C. Chandak, said, "Every action which may be to the dislike of a class of people may not necessarily lead to outraging religious sentiments." The court stressed the need for dissent, quoting author A.G. Noorani, "Intolerance of dissent from the orthodoxy of the day has been the bane of Indian society for centuries." It added that for an IPC Section 295A offense, there must be a deliberate attempt to outrage religious feelings.
Defense
Kher's defense and court's final decision
Notably, Kher had approached the High Court in 2014, after the complaint was filed. Back then, the court had granted interim relief saying no coercive action should be taken against the singer. In his plea, Kher argued he was just a singer and had no role in the video's choreography, which was performed by another company through Sony Music Entertainment. The court finally ruled no offense was made out against Kher since there was no malicious intent.