Supreme Law News

Is slang used by youngester these days vulgar & covered under IT Act ?

Maker of "College Romance": "We're Showing How Youngsters Speak."

Supreme Court to consider whether profanity is covered by Sec. 67A IT Act.

Hearing the matter, the Supreme Court said that it would investigate whether Section 67A of the Information Technology Act, 2000 would apply to profane language.

It was considereding an appeal from the creators of the TVF online series "College Romance."

The creators of the web series have filed an appeal with the Supreme Court, against the Delhi High Court's decision upholding the filing of a police report under Sections 67 and 67A of the Information Technology Act of 2000.

Anyone who publishes or transmits in electronic form material that contains "sexually explicit act or conduct" is subject to penalties under Section 67A of the IT Act.

The producers' counsel, Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi, contended that Section 67A of the IT Act does not establish any offense.

He contended that the provisions of 67A would not apply to obscenities. It is not indecent or vulgar conduct on television; rather, it is a question of filthy words.

We were illustrating the slang used by college students; it is a way of life, he said.

However, justices AS Bopanna and MM Sundresh's bench, who were hearing the case, expressed their concerns regarding the same.

We have no problem expressing our opinions on the matter, but doing so might be detrimental to you.

Any other safeguards we could think of. We will evaluate application 67 after holding a hearing.

We have a reservation on 67A, said Justice Sundresh.

Justice Sundresh stated that Section 67A does not apply to express language because "act has a broader sense" in acts and conduct.

You can not say, in a technical sense, that "act" simply refers to "physical act."

The case will be heard again on 31 Oct, 23.

Background

The Delhi High Court found in March 2023 that the language used in the web series "College Romance" did not pass the "morale decency community test" of the average man and over the line into obscenity.

According to the High Court, it is important to treat seriously instances of vulgar language being used in public spaces and on social media sites that are accessible to young children.

The High Court was currently considering petitions filed by TVF Media Labs Pvt. Ltd., the casting director of the online series "College Romance," and the show's principal performers in opposition to orders made by the sessions court and ACMM requesting the filing of a formal complaint (FIR) against them.

According to Sections 67 and 67A of the IT Act, the High Court had sustained the registration of the FIR against them.

The High Court had stated that this language "cannot be called the frequently spoken language used in our country" since it is not one that the nation's young or other inhabitants of this country use.

The High Court had concluded that "therefore, on the basis of this finding it can be held that the content of the web series will certainly attract the criminality as envisaged under Section 67 of the Information Technology Act".

The morals of impressionable minds are corroded by the web series. Although it may be argued that the State cannot impose morality and that courts cannot engage in moral policing in the name of Indian values, this Court maintains that when self-regulatory bodies fail to perform their duties and permit such content to be served indiscriminately to the people of all ages and the law does not define or provide specific remedy, the people must only turn to the courts, according to the High Court's decision.

Case Title: TVF Media Labs Pvt. Ltd. v. State (Govt. Of NCT Of Delhi) SLP(Crl) No. 5532/2023

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( LLM, MBA, (UK), PhD, AIMA, AFAI, PHD Chamber, ICTC, PCI, FCC, DFC, PPL, MNP, BNI, ICJ (UK), WP, (UK), MLE, Harvard Square, London, CT, Blair Singer Institute, (USA), Dip. in International Crime, Leiden University, the Netherlands )

Advocate & Consultant Supreme Court of India, High Courts & Tribunals.