VHP requests Karnataka Governor to withhold assent to hate speech bill

The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) on Monday petitioned Karnataka Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot, requesting him to withhold the assent and reserve the “hate speech bill” for consideration of the President of India.

Vishwa Hindu Parishad National Secretary and Social Harmony in-charge, Devji Bhai Rawat, along with a delegation from the organisation, met the governor at Lok Bhavan and submitted a petition.

The Karnataka Hate Speech and Hate Crimes (Prevention) Bill, 2025, was passed by both houses of the State legislature in December, amid stiff resistance from Opposition BJP and JD(S). It is currently before the Governor for his assent to become a law. The Bill proposes a jail term of one year, extendable up to seven years with a fine of Rs 50,000 for hate crime. For repeated offences the maximum imprisonment will be seven years, with a fine of Rs 1 lakh.

“The proposed legislation empowers the police with excessive discretion, which is aimed at curbing the genuine criticism of various actions of the State. Therefore, we request your Excellency to withhold the assent and reserve the bill for consideration of the Hon’ble President as provided under Article 200 of the Constitution of India,” the petition said.

The bill is a “bundle of contents” which risks the criminalisation of every person under the guise of preventing hate speeches. The bill has failed to differentiate between hate speech and a hate crime, VHP contended.

It is the settled proposition of law that any enactment criminalising speech must be precise and not very vague which creates the fear of prosecution among the general public, whose communication should not be treated as a tool for prosecution, it added. Opposition BJP and JD(S), as also several organisations, have already petitioned the governor requesting not to give assent to the Bill.

According to VHP, the bill suffers from various legal and procedural flaws and it is unconstitutional. Though the bill as per the Government is to address communal discord, the manner in which it is drafted, it is suffering from various legal inconsistencies and is also in violation of the various Articles of the Constitution of India.

Claiming that the very definition of hate speech under the said bill is undefined, it said, “this may lead to misuse.”

It also violates the very principles of freedom of speech and expression, the VHP said, adding that “the proposed legislation is directed at criminalising legitimate descent, legitimate criticism and legitimate political speech.”

Further, terming the punishment under the proposed legislation as “harsh and vague”, the VHP said, “...Making the offence cognisable and non-bailable which allows the police to arrest the accused without warrant based on an irrelevant interpretation of hate speech has a high risk of potential police overreach.”

It said, the central enactment (law) substantially covers the act of hurting religious sentiments and hate speech, and the introduction of this bill by the State Government is “uncalled for” and it encroaches upon the central enactment.

Under the proposed legislation the police are given unnecessary excessive powers and also discretionary powers to the Executive Magistrate, which will take away the right to freedom of speech and expression of the citizen under Article 19[1][a] of the Constitution of India, the VHP Stated.

The powers given to the designated officer to direct the service provider, intermediaries, person or entity to block or remove the hate crime materials from its domain including electronic media is totally unconstitutional since such a content requires a mandatory judicial review, it said.