‘Academic opinions on legal judgments not religious offence’

HC SAYS CRITICALLY ANALYSING JUDICIAL DECISIONS IS A KEY PART OF EDUCATION AND DOES NOT VIOLATE IPC IN ABSENCE OF PROVOCATION

- Dinesh Bothra

The Rajasthan high court has dismissed a petition filed by a law student against the inclusion of a question on the Ram Janmabhoomi verdict in a university examination, saying that academic and personal opinions on legal judgments do not amount to religious offences unless driven by malicious intent.

Making the observation on Thursday, justice Anoop Kumar Dhand said that questioning or critically analysing judicial decisions is an essential part of legal education and does not violate Section 295A of the Indian Penal Code in the absence of deliberate provocation.

“An academic or personal opinion expressed by a student or teacher or scholar on a legal judgment, even one involving sensitive issues, cannot be equated with any religion attack,” justice Dhand said.