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Apoorva Arora & Anr. Etc. vs. State (Govt. of NCT of Delhi) & Anr.

Not available · 2024 INSC 223Decided 19 Mar 2024
Not available
Justice A.S. Bopanna · Justice Pamidighantam Sri Narasimha

Background

The appellants were actors, a casting director, script writers, the creator of the popular web-series "College Romance," and the media company operating the YouTube channel that hosted it. A complaint was filed alleging that an episode titled "Happily F****d Up" used vulgar and obscene language, triggering an FIR under Sections 67 and 67A of the IT Act (and initially IPC provisions too, later dropped). The Investigating Officer's own enquiry had found no cognisable offence, but the Magistrate directed registration of an FIR anyway, later narrowed by the Sessions Judge to only the IT Act provisions. The Delhi High Court declined to quash the FIR, applying a "community standards" test for obscenity, prompting the appeal to the Supreme Court.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court held that mere use of crude language, swear words, and profanity does not by itself amount to "obscenity" under Section 67 of the IT Act, which requires content that is lascivious, appeals to prurient interest, or tends to deprave and corrupt viewers: assessed by an "average, reasonable, and strong-minded" viewer, not the most sensitive one, and judged for the work as a whole rather than isolated words taken out of context. It found the web-series episode, despite its crude dialogue, did not meet this threshold. On Section 67A (sexually explicit material), the Court found the complaint contained no allegation of any actual sexually explicit act or conduct at all, only complaints about foul language, so that provision was never even attracted. Applying the settled principles for quashing FIRs where allegations, even if true, disclose no offence, the Court allowed the appeals, set aside the High Court's judgment, and quashed the FIR.

Lesson Learnt

Vulgar language or crude dialogue in creative content is not automatically "obscene" or "sexually explicit" under the law. Courts must assess such content as a whole, from the perspective of an average reasonable viewer, and cannot let criminal prosecution proceed merely because content offends some viewers' sensibilities.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

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