'Profanity Isn't Per Se Obscenity' : Supreme Court Quashes FIR Against 'College Romance' Actors & Makers For Use Of Expletives

The Supreme Court on Tuesday (March 19) quashed the pending criminal case of obscenity against the makers of the Web Series named "College Romance".Reversing the findings of the Delhi High Court which had refused to quash the obscenity case against the lead casts and makers of the web series, the Bench Comprising Justices A.S. Bopanna and P.S. Narasimha held that vulgarity and profanities do not per se amount to obscenity.The Supreme Court held that the High Court, while analyzing and examining the language used in the web series, erred in construing the language as obscene to be punishable under Section 67 of the Information Technology Act, 2000 ("IT Act"). "While a person may find vulgar and expletive-filled language to be distasteful, unpalatable, uncivil, and improper, that by itself is not sufficient to be 'obscene'. Obscenity relates to material that arouses sexual and lustful thoughts, which is not at all the effect of the abusive language or profanities that have been employed in the episode. Rather, such language may evoke disgust, revulsion, or shock. The reality of the High Court's finding is that once it found the language to be profane and vulgar, it has in fact moved away from the requirements of obscenity under Section 67 of the IT Act. The High Court failed to notice the inherent contradiction in its conclusions.", the Judgment authored by Justice P.S. Narasimha said."When we notice the use of such language in the context of the plot and theme of the web series, which is a light-hearted show on the college lives of young students, it is clear that the use of these terms is not related to sex and does not have any sexual connotation. Neither did the creator of the web-series intend for the language to be taken in its literal sense nor is that the impact on a reasonable viewer who will watch the material. Therefore, there is a clear error in the legal approach adopted by the High Court in analysing and examining the material to determine obscenity.", the court added.BackgroundIn March 2023, upholding the registration of an FIR against the accused under Sections 67 and 67A of the IT Act, the Delhi High Court ruled that the language used in the web series "College Romance" did not pass the "morale decency community test" of the ordinary man and crossed the line into obscenity. The High Court stated that the use of obscene language in public places and on social media platforms accessible to children of a young age must be addressed seriously.Aggrieved by the High Court's ruling, actors Apoorva Arora, Gagan Arora and Simarpreet Singh and the makers approached the Supreme Court for quashing of the criminal proceedings under Section 67/67A of the Information Technology Act.Section 67A of the Information Technology Act, 2000, prescribes punishment for a person who publishes or transmits in electronic form material containing a 'sexually explicit act or conduct'. Section 67 IT penalizes transmission of 'obscene' materials through electronic form.Supreme Court's Observation1. Every Language Wouldn't Be Termed As Obscene Under Section 67 IT Act Unless Deprave and Corrupt the Minds Of PeopleThe High Court framed the issue of whether the language employed in the episode is contemporarily used by the youth and whether it meets the threshold of decency. The Supreme Court disapproved of the approach undertaken by the High Court while applying the test for obscenity to the allegedly offending portions of the web series. The Court remarked that the High Court posed a wrong question which yielded a wrong answer. The judgment stated : "The enquiry under Section 67 of the IT Act does not hinge on whether the language or words are decent, or whether they are commonly used in the country as tested by the High Court. Rather, from the plain language of the provision, the inquiry is to determine whether the content is lascivious, appeals to prurient interests, or tends to deprave and corrupt the minds of those in whose hands it is likely to fall.”2. Profanity and Vulgarity Need Not To Be Equated With ObscenityThe Court noted that the High Court has equated profanities and vulgarity with obscenity, without undertaking a proper or detailed analysis into how such language, by itself, could be sexual, lascivious, prurient, or depraving and corrupting.Rejecting such an approach, the court observed that "it is well-established from the precedents cited that vulgarity and profanities do not per se amount to obscenity.""While a person may find vulgar and expletive-filled language to be distasteful, unpalatable, uncivil, and improper, that by itself is not sufficient to be 'obscene'. Obscenity relates to material that arouses sexual and lustful thoughts, which is not at all the effect of the abusive language or profanities that have been employed in the episode.Rather, such language may evoke disgust, revulsion, or shock. The reality of the High Court's finding is that once it found the language to be profane and vulgar, it ...

'Profanity Isn't Per Se Obscenity' : Supreme Court Quashes FIR Against 'College Romance' Actors & Makers For Use Of Expletives

Yash Mittal

The Supreme Court observed that the High Court took the language of the show in a literal sense and applied the wrong standard.

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