Mumbai: The Aurangabad bench of the Bombay High Court has observed that, nowadays, everyone is sensitive about their own caste and community but fails to show reciprocal respect towards others.
The court also remarked that not every social media post, comment, or speech requires a reaction and that there are more sophisticated ways to express dissent.
A division bench of Justices Vibha Kankanwadi and Sanjay Deshmukh on Wednesday quashed a case against a man accused of defaming Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar and also reprimanded another person for his social media post against the Brahmin community.
In August 2019, a case was registered against Devendra Patil at the Daulatabad police station in Aurangabad district under the Indian Penal Code and the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
The complainant, Ravi Gaikwad, alleged that Patil had called him and reprimanded him for a social media post against the Brahmin community. Patil allegedly abused Gaikwad and defamed Dr. Ambedkar.
The judges noted that the conversation between Patil and Gaikwad did not indicate any disrespect toward Dr. Ambedkar. Instead, Patil questioned Gaikwad about using Dr. Ambedkar’s name while not following in his footsteps. Patil reportedly remarked that people like Gaikwad were responsible for diminishing respect for Ambedkar.
“This conversation in no way showed disrespect to Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar or indicated any intention to insult him or disturb harmony between communities,” the court emphasized. The court underscored that Patil was merely reacting to a provocative post uploaded by Gaikwad on social media against the Brahmin community.
“A person from one community cannot claim the right to object when he himself has engaged in a provocative act. There must be reciprocal respect among all communities and castes. That is the essence of the constitutional scheme,” the bench observed. It added: “Nowadays, everyone is sensitive about their own caste and community but fails to show reciprocal respect toward others.”
The court warned that if neither community nor individuals from any caste exercise restraint and make efforts to foster harmony, such incidents will only increase in the future.
Emphasizing that it is unnecessary to react to every offensive post, comment, or speech, the court stated: “There are more sophisticated ways to express dissent toward those who upload such provocative posts.”
