The FIR had been lodged against petitioner Faizan Ansari, a govt school teacher, at Chicholi police station in Betul district under Section 353(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
Justice Sharma further observed that the FIR lacked any material to indicate communal intent.
The Madhya Pradesh High Court has set aside an FIR registered against a government school teacher from Betul for uploading a WhatsApp status featuring the recitation of an Urdu poem.
The court held that there was no material to suggest any intent to spread hatred or communal tension and described the poem as “a satirical and thought-provoking commentary on the issue of human rights violations against women”.
Justice BP Sharma observed that “criminal liability for speech-related offences cannot be imposed merely on the basis of subjective perceptions or speculative apprehensions, but must be founded on clear and proximate evidence of incitement or tendency to disrupt public order.”
The FIR had been lodged against petitioner Faizan Ansari, a government school teacher, at Chicholi police station in Betul district under Section 353(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. The case stemmed from a WhatsApp status uploaded by Ansari containing a recitation of the Urdu nazm ‘Be-haya’, written by poet Shoaib Kiani.
In its order, the court said, “The act of the petitioner in sharing a poetic recitation, without any additional commentary or intent to incite, cannot be construed as promoting enmity or public mischief because, the Urdu poem written by Shoaib Kaini which was uploaded on the WhatsApp status (DP) by the petitioner and poem relates to the condition and sarcastic take on human rights, abuse of the women in Pakistan or any other country.”
The court also noted that the poem had been widely circulated on social media and appreciated by literary figures at national and international platforms.
Justice Sharma further observed that the FIR lacked any material to indicate communal intent. “There is no material whatsoever to indicate that the petitioner intended to promote hatred or incite violence, nor is there any evidence of actual disturbance of public order attributable to the act of the petitioner,” the order stated.
The court also said, “the FIR is conspicuously silent on any such intent attributable to the petitioner. The act alleged against the petitioner is confined to posting a video of a poetic recitation, without any additional commentary or exhortation and there is no material to suggest that the petitioner intended to incite hostility between communities or the content was directed against any identifiable group.”
According to the petition, Ansari had uploaded the video on his WhatsApp status on July 22, 2025, around 10:15 am without any caption or message. Later the same day, police allegedly called him to the station, seized his mobile phone and registered the FIR after complaints claimed the video could disturb communal harmony.
Bhopal, India, India
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