Kerala HC quashes case for waving black flag at CM Vijayan

Kochi, Nov 21 The Kerala High Court has quashed a case against a man charged with waving a black flag at Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan as his convoy was passing.

The incident took place on April 9, 2017, and the person was charged with cases like posing danger or obstruction in a public way, disobedience to the order of a public servant, defamation, and assault.

A single bench of Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas said|: "Though signs and visible representations can be a mode of defaming a person, still showing or waving a black flag to a person cannot amount to defamation nor is it an illegal act. Even if a black flag was shown to the Chief Minister's convoy, such conduct cannot by any stretch of the language of Section 499 of the IPC be perceived as defamatory. In this context, this Court bears in mind that a black flag can depict different things depending on the context. Waving a flag can be a sign of support or a sign of protest. It is a matter of perception. Generally, a black flag is shown as a mark of protest. If a flag of a particular colour is shown, whatever the reason, including as a mark of protest, as long as there is no law which prohibits the waving of a flag simpliciter, such conduct cannot be mulcted with the offence of defamation."

The intention behind the IPC's Section 95 (act causing simple harm) IPC is to avoid penalising negligible wrongs or trivial offences, the court said, adding that if prosecution is initiated for every triviality, "we will have time only for those".

"Section 95 comes to the aid in such instances. Considering the circumstances that none of the other offences is attracted and only Section 353 IPC remains, this court is of the view that having regard to the nature of allegations and in the absence of any assault or injury on the police officers and since the duty of the police officers was not deterred, Section 95 IPC can be applied to quash the offence under Section 353 IPC," it added.

The court concluded that it found no offences as alleged in the final report and quashed it.