Published online by Cambridge University Press: 02 February 2024
The right to free speech and expression is a fundamental right guaranteed under Article 19 (1) (a) of part III of the Indian constitution. The fundamental rights act as the constitutional restraints over the state's authority to intervene within the protective gamut of civil liberties of the people. However, the Indian judiciary remains the principal enforcer of the constitutional liberties guaranteed as fundamental rights whenever breached by the state. As the interpreters of the constitution and guardians of civil liberties, the Indian constitutional courts have consistently acted to protect people from state-authorised interventions in their respective domains of fundamental rights. To this concept, this research article by Rebant Juyal attempts to study the landmark judgment of the Indian Supreme Court in the case of Anuradha Bhasin v Union of India, where the court upheld the fundamental right of people to express their speech and expression on the internet.
1 Anuradha Bhasin v Union of India, AIR 2020 SC 1308, para 20
2 Ibid para 15
3 Id., para 27
4 Id., para 152(b)
5 (2017) 10 SCC 1
6 Ibid para 310
7 (2019) SCC OnLineSC 1 459
8 Ibid para 225
9 [1983] 1 WLR 151, 155 (Diplock J)
10 Ibid
11 Anuradha Bhasin v Union of India, AIR 2020 SC 1308 [Para 49]; Zedner, Lucia, ‘Securing Liberty in the Face of Terror: Reflections from Criminal Justice’, (2005) 32 Journal of Law and Society 510CrossRefGoogle Scholar
12 Chintaman Rao v State of Madhya Pradesh, AIR 1951 SC 118. The court ruled: “The phrase, “reasonable restriction” connotes that the limitation imposed on a person in enjoyment of the right should not be arbitrary or of an excessive nature, beyond what is required in the interests of the public.”
13 Anuradha Bhasin v Union of India, AIR 2020 SC 1308 [Para 51]
14 Ibid para 146
15 Ibid para 140(i)
16 Anuradha Bhasin v Union of India, AIR 2020 SC 1308 [Para 86]
17 Ibid para 86
18 Ibid para 36
19 Ibid para 99
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