The Supreme Court on Tuesday held itself back from undertaking any exercise to impose a ban on Sardar jokes as it felt that such a decision would be in the realm of moral policing which will be difficult to enforce in a diversified country like India.
The change of heart came with the change of the bench as the matter which was earlier entertained by former CJI TS Thakur appeared for the first time before a bench headed by Justice Dipak Misra.
Finding that the petitioner, a lawyer from the Sikh community Harvinder Chaudhary enjoyed support from the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) and Shiromani Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC), the bench of Justices Misra and R Banumathi asked the senior lawyers appearing for the two bodies to rethink on their strategy and inform the Court by Monday.
The bench realised that the matter had travelled too far as a DSGMC-appointed Committee headed by former Supreme Court judge HS Bedi even suggested possible directions to be issued in order to ensure that the honour of the Sikh community is protected.
The petition filed as a PIl alleged that Sikh community is being made the butt of jokes which is demeaning for the community and subjected the Sikh children studying in schools, colleges through untold harassment, agony and ridicule.
The bench told the petitioner and the other counsels supporting her, “I don’t think the court should get into these matters. We cannot lay down moral guidelines for citizens. In such a diversified country it is very difficult to enforce such an order.”
The bench recounted the historical place enjoyed by Sikhs in the country as they have always been known as a “fighting community” who enjoy a respectable position in society. “By filing this litigation, you are bringing the community down. The whole India respects them.” The bench was of the view that if any individual felt hurt by a social media post or joke, he had recourse to defamation (IPC Section 499) or Section 67A of Information Technology Act.