CHANGING DIMENSIONS OF FREEDOM OF SPEECH

INTRODUCTION
Speech is a gift of God to humanity. A person's opinions, emotions, and feelings are
communicated to others by expression. The right to express his/her opinions and ideas
without any fear is considered a basic need for democracy. Thus, freedom of speech and
expression is a fundamental right that every human being is born with. As a result, it is a
fundamental right. In today's world, it is generally acknowledged that the right to freedom of
expression is essential to democracy and must be protected at all times. The free exchange of
ideas in an open forum is the first concept of a free society. 
Various international conventions, such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the
European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, and the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, guarantee freedom of speech and expression. The
freedom of speech and expression is explicitly mentioned in these declarations. In the context
of the Indian constitution, article 19(1) (a) enumerates this right as a fundamental right.
However, these rights are not absolute and are subjected to certain restrictions on the grounds
mentioned in the constitution. 

MEANING OF FREEDOM OF SPEECH AND EXPRESSION

It is important to understand what is the Freedom of Speech and Expression, “The right to
express one's own beliefs and opinions through words freely, writing, publishing, images, or
any other means is known as freedom of speech and expression”. As a result, it encompasses
the communication of one's ideas by some means or observable representation. It's also worth
noting that one's liberty does not infringe on the liberty of others. “Man as a human being
desires to do many things,” Patanjali Shastri, J. observed in the case of A.K. Gopalan, “but in
a civil society his desires would have to be controlled by the exercise of similar desires by
other individuals.” Every citizen of this country has the right to express himself or herself
through the printed and electronic media, subject to the limitations set forth in Article 19(2)
of the Constitution. To ensure that the right does not end up violating the democratic
principle, the Constitution also provides the provision to impose the following restrictions on
free expression:
1.     Sovereignty and integrity of India
2.     Security of the State.
3.     Friendly relations with foreign states
4.     Public order
5.     Decency or Morality 
6.     Contempt of court 
7.     Defamation 
8.     Incitement to an Offence. 

MISUSE OF RESTRICTIONS
The Freedom of Speech and Expression is subject to restraints that are deemed to be
reasonable by the government. The Government of India has framed various penal laws to
ensure that the right is not used against the interest of the state or of its citizens. For instance,
“Promoting enmity between different groups based on faith, caste, place of birth, residence,
language, etc.” is prohibited under Section 153A of the Indian Penal Code. “Uttering,
gestures or other acts with the deliberate intent to wound the religious feelings of any person”
are also prohibited under Section 298.
Freedom also involves criticism of the government or the state, which is one of the
characteristic features of democracy.  Sometimes, the government tries to suppress these
criticisms in the name of reasonable restrictions or by using various other laws. The
regulation of freedom of expression is exemplified by sedition. Under Section 124A of the
IPC, any act that instils or attempts to instil a feeling of contempt or disaffection toward the
government established by law is punishable. In order to suppress Indian rebellion, the
British criminalised sedition in 1860 through the Indian Penal Code (IPC). Though Section
124A is a necessary restriction to maintain national peace and unity, political and religious
leaders are abusing it to silence those who speak out against them. The number of sedition
lawsuits filed has risen dramatically in recent years. The total number of sedition cases
registered in 2015-2018 stands at 191, of which 30 were filed in 2015, 35 in 2016, 51 in
2017, and 75 in 2018. Out of these 191 cases, trials are completed for 43 cases, of which only
4 were convicted, while the rest were acquitted. The conviction rate of the cases proves that
the majority of the cases were filed without any basis, and the sole reason, as inferred from
the data, is mental as well as financial harassment. 
Another example of how limitations on freedom of speech have been violated is defamation.
Parts 499 and 500 of the Indian Penal Code make defamation illegal. Due to the word's
narrow definition, anyone or any organisation can sue for defamation damages based on
statements made about them. Criminal defamation has often been used to restrict people's
freedom of speech and expression, instilling in them a fear of criminal penalties, causing
them to refrain from exercising their right to free speech. As a result, it has always been a
topic of academic discussion, with many people calling for the statute's repeal. 
While the right has, for the most part, given the freedom to the citizens to provide
constructive criticism to other individuals as well as to the state, the right has been abused
and exploited, mostly by political and religious leaders across the country. Such slander,
sedition, and other cases not only encumber individuals with court fines, legal proceedings,
and mental stress and agony for practising their right to free speech and expression, but they
also threaten other people and organisations, who, as a result, refrain from exercising their
right freely due to the risk of facing such a suit. The right is being used as a shield under
which the leaders instigate and provoke the masses against their counterparts, be it another
political party, a different religion, or simply another group with the other ideology than their
own. The leaders deliver hate speeches against such individuals and communities under the
name of exercising their rights, abusing and performing a character assassination in the name
of expressing their views on an event or a person.

AFTERMATH
Recently, a USA based organisation called Freedom House has released a report assessing
democracy in the world. The report has downgraded India’s position from a free country to a
Partly Free country based on the factors relating to political rights and civil liberties. India’s
performance has become more week, and the points dropped to 67 from 71 last year. When
we look at the reasons for this downfall, it is majorly the restrictions in the freedoms
guaranteed. The use of defence, defamation, sedition, and contempt of court laws to silence
critical media voices has increased dramatically in recent years, and reporting has become
drastically less ambitious Internet is a vital mode of expressing our opinions and raising our
voice during modern times but, India's Internet freedom score slipped to 51 in a year when
social media surveillance was fiercely debated. The government shut down Internet access in
Kashmir and along Delhi's borders. One of the major features of freedom of speech is the
right to protest. However, the government stepped up its crackdown on demonstrators
opposing a restrictive citizenship law, arresting hundreds of journalists who criticised the
government's response to the pandemic.
CONCLUSION
Each and every human being has the right to freedom of speech and expression, which is
included in our Constitution's basic fundamental rights, together with the ability to impose
reasonable restrictions on it. However, both the right and the prohibitions have been violated
and misappropriated on many occasions, ranging from mental and financial abuse by slander
and sedition suits to delivering hate speeches in the name of free expression. As a result, the
question arises: what can be done? Is it possible to lift the limits and make sedition and
slander non-criminal? Should the controls be tightened further to discourage hate speech and
incitement? It can be seen that both the above are extreme situations. Therefore what is
required is a balance between the two. There’s an excellent line of credit which is the need of
the hour for a country’s freedom of speech to triumph. 
 
Name:  Shobhit Arora
Year of college & Course: 1st year/ 2nd Semester BA LLB ( Hons)
College/ University: School of Law, Christ (Deemed to be University). 
 
 

It is less plagiarised and well written and it is good for publication