MOOT PROPOSITION FOR MCTA COURSE

BBALLB 2018 SECTION D

1. Wakanda is a country which is hailed globally for its plurality and multiculturalism. It is a
secular, federal, democratic republic following a parliamentary system of government. It has a
rich cultural history of religious tolerance and co-existence of multiple religions. In Wakanda,
75% of the people follow the majority religion, Stark, with followers of this religion identifying
themselves as Starkists. The rest 20% of the people follow the Thor religion (followers of
Thor religion are Thorists) and 5% of the people follow the Killmonger religion (followers of
Killmonger religion are Killmongerists).

2. The capital city of Wakanda is Asgard. The current ruling political party at the Centre is the
Agatha National Party (ANP) which has been in power since 2014. ANP is a right-wing party
with a conservative ideology. ANP aspires to make Wakanda a ‘Stark Rashtra’, where they
believe that all rules and way of life should be in accordance with the ancient principles of the
Stark religion. Opposition parties fear that this extremist position unfavourably disadvantages
the other religious minorities (Thorists and Killmongerists) and is against the secular and
liberal fabric of Wakanda.

3. ANP has the majority in the Parliament. On 1st February 2020, the Parliament of Wakanda
enacted a law called, ‘The Suppression of Anti-National Speech Act, 2020’ (Hereinafter ‘2020 Speech
Act’). The object of the Act was to protect the faith that the common person had in the
government and to avoid a ‘breach of peace’ by criminalizing any speech that is deemed to be
misleading, or against national interests and which had a tendency to incite violence.

Section 3 of the 2020 Speech Act states,

“Whoever, by words, either spoken or written, or by signs, or by visible representation, or
otherwise, brings or attempts to bring into hatred or contempt, or excites or attempts to excite
disaffection towards, the Government established by law in Wakanda, shall be punished with
imprisonment for life to which fine may be added, or with imprisonment which may extend to
three years, to which fine may be added, or with fine.
Explanation 1.—The expression “disaffection” includes disloyalty and all feelings of enmity.
Explanation 2.—Comments expressing disapprobation of the measures of the Government
with a view to obtain their alteration by lawful means, without exciting or attempting to excite
hatred, contempt or disaffection, do not constitute an offence under this section.
Explanation 3.—Comments expressing disapprobation of the administrative or other action
of the Government without exciting or attempting to excite hatred, contempt or disaffection, do
not constitute an offence under this section.”

4. In March 2020, the situation in Asgard started worsening with the ANP at the helm of
governance. Starkists started harassing the followers of Thor and Killmonger religion. There
were 30 mob lynchings in the country where Thorists and Killmongerists were brutally beaten
by violent mobs lead by Starkists. The mob forcibly made them chant ‘All Hail Stark Rashtra’.
The tension between the religions reached alarming proportions. Furthermore, there were
numerous instances of the government demolishing the houses and shops of people belonging
to Thor and Killmonger religions by bulldozers alleging that they violated Building Regulations
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 Codes. Legal scholars opined that these acts of demolition were arbitrary as there was no
advance notice and no adequate proof of such violation and hence these acts of the
Government appeared to be targetting religious minorities. These incidents created
widespread fear in the minds of the Wakandans as they could see that perpetrators could
engage in such targeted violence with brazen impunity and were not punished in any manner.
There was widespread unrest in the country.

5. On 8th March 2020, a large number of people gathered in front of the Wakandan Parliament
with due permission of the authorities and organized a peaceful protest against the atrocities
committed on Thorists and Killmongerists. They chanted the Preamble of the Constitution of
Wakanda in front of the Parliament and called for the government to take action against the
perpetrators of violence. However, a few goons hijacked the peaceful protesters, set fire to a
Killmonger religious building situated near the Parliament, and attacked law enforcement
authorities who tried to prevent such violence. By the time additional police reinforcements
came in, the gathering had turned even more violent. Over 200 people lost their lives in the
violence (20 of them were Starkists, 15 of them were police officials, 80 of them were Thorists
and 85 of them were Killmongerists).

6. Ms. Nakia Okoye is a prominent journalist and a Thorist by faith who is widely regarded as a
bold and perceptive human rights activist working on the political developments in Wakanda.
She was very distressed on hearing about the violence, especially the one on 8th March 2020.
Ms. Nakia had a YouTube channel, ‘The Real Truth’ where she regularly posted her opinions
about the social and political situation in Wakanda through a critical lens backed by thorough
research. This channel was very popular and had 1 million followers.

7. On 15th March, 2020 in this YouTube channel, Ms. Nakia criticized the ANP Government
and the Prime Minister Mr. Thanos Riz for their inaction with regard to the mob violence in
different parts of the country. She stated that the growing intolerance of the Government is
unacceptable and is against what Wakanda truly stands for. At 8 minutes 15 seconds of the
video, she emphasized that Mr. Riz and the ANP were largely responsible for the deaths in
the 8th March violence. She appealed to all Wakandans to rise and show them that they are not
afraid to fight against such injustice.

8. On 24th March 2020, Ms. Nakia was arrested under Section 3 of The 2020 Speech Act and her
YouTube channel ‘The Real Truth’ was taken down. An FIR was registered against her which
read as follows:

“To,
The Officer in Charge,
Westview Police Station
Asgard

I, Inspector Gamora Carter, hereby lodge this FIR against Ms. Nakia Okoye, aged 31 years, resident of
Groot Road, Westview, Asgard, for committing an offence under Section 3 of The Suppression of Anti-
National Speech Act, 2020.

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 On 15th March, 2020 at 10am Wakandan Standard Time in her YouTube channel, ‘The Real Truth’,
Ms. Nakia criticized the ANP Government and the Prime Minister Mr. Thanos Riz and accused them of
orchestrating the mob violence in different parts of the country. At 8 minutes 15 seconds of the video, she
specifically stated that Mr. Riz and the ANP government were responsible for the violence on 8th March in
front of the Parliament which is false and malicious. This directly amounts to inciting violence amongst the
citizens and disturbing public tranquility. This is an act of instigating violence against the government and the
Prime Minister. In fact, prima facie, Ms. Nakia’s records also show that she herself had some involvement in
the 8th March violence (her previous video posts also have a similar tone of inciting violence). The attempts on
her part to spread misinformation and cause panic in the perception of the public without any basis would
definitely lead to further violence.
This video is creating a law and order situation in the city and hence, is a criminal offense under Section 3 of
The Suppression of Anti-National Speech Act, 2020. Therefore, I request you to take appropriate action and
initiate criminal proceedings against her.

Sincerely,
Inspector Gamora Carter
Westview Police Station
Asgard”

9. Aggrieved by her arrest, Ms. Nakia approached the Supreme Court of Wakanda by filing a writ
petition under Article 32 of the Constitution of Wakanda. In her petition, she claimed that her
fundamental rights were violated by the takedown of her YouTube channel and the criminal
proceedings initiated against her under the 2020 Speech Act. She prayed to quash the FIR and
criminal proceedings. She also challenged the constitutionality of the 2020 Speech Act by
arguing that the provision is vague and subjective and gives the government unbridled power
to suppress freedom of speech and expression. During the initial hearing, a preliminary
objection was raised by the State that the writ petition was not maintainable. The State also
argued that the 2020 Speech Act was necessary to curb the spread of misinformation and was
in the interest of protection of public tranquility. The State contended that the provision was
narrowly tailored and was in line with the reasonable restrictions on the freedom of speech
and expression as provided in the Wakandan Constitution.

ISSUES:
1. Whether the Supreme Court of Wakanda is an appropriate forum to exercise the jurisdiction
in relation to the writ petition filed by Ms. Nakia?
2. Whether the takedown of the YouTube channel, the FIR and institution of the criminal
proceedings arbitrary and malafide and liable to be quashed?
3. Whether Section 3 of the 2020 Speech Act is violative of the Constitution of Wakanda, and the
fundamental rights enshrined therein?
4. Whether Section 3 of the 2020 Speech Act is a reasonable restriction on the freedom of speech
and expression guaranteed under the Wakandan Constitution?

For the purpose of the moot problem, the laws of the Republic of Wakanda are in pari materia with
the laws of the Republic of India.