Underscoring the importance of protecting the freedom of speech and expression, the Supreme Court on Friday quashed an FIR lodged by the Gujarat Police against Congress MP Imran Pratapgarhi for allegedly posting an edited video of a provocative song.

Advocating free expression of thoughts by individuals, the top court said the effect of spoken or written words cannot be judged on the basis of standards of the people who always have a sense of insecurity or those who always perceive criticism as a threat to their power or position.

A bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan said it is the duty of court to protect the fundamental rights of citizens.

The top court observed that for the offence under Section 196 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the spoken or written words will have to be considered based on standards of a reasonable strong-minded firm and courageous individual and not based on standards of people with weak and oscillating minds.

"Free expression of thoughts by individuals or groups of individuals is an integral part of healthy and civilised society. Without freedom of expression of thoughts and views, it is impossible to lead a dignified life guaranteed under Article 21 of the constitution.

"In a healthy democracy, views, thoughts and opinions must be countered by another point of view. Even if a large number of persons dislike the views expressed by other, the right of person to express views must be respected and protected," the bench said.

Literature, including poetry, drama, films, satire and art, make the life of human beings more meaningful, the apex court said.

"Courts are duty-bound to protect and uphold fundamental rights of citizens. Sometimes we the judges may not like the spoken or written words, but still, it is our duty to uphold the fundamental rights under Article 19(1).

"We judges are also under an obligation to uphold the Constitution and the respective ideals. It is the duty of the court to step in and to protect the fundamental rights," the bench said.

The court said Constitutional courts must be at the forefront to zealously protect the fundamental rights of the citizens.

"It is the bounden duty of the court to ensure that the Constitution and ideals of the Constitution are not trampled upon," the bench said.

The Congress leader had challenged the January 17 order of the Gujarat High Court which dismissed his petition for quashing the FIR filed against him, saying investigation was at a very nascent stage.

On January 3, Pratapgarhi was booked for the alleged provocative song in the backdrop of a mass marriage function he attended in Jamnagar.

Among other sections, Pratapgarhi, national chairman of the Congress' minority cell, was booked under Section 196 (promoting enmity between different groups on the basis of religion, race, etc.) and 197 (imputations, assertions prejudicial to national integration) of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.

The 46-second video clip, uploaded by Pratapgarhi on X, showed him being showered with flower petals as he walked waving his hands and a song playing in the background which the FIR alleged had lyrics that were provocative, detrimental to national unity and hurt religious feelings.