Criminalising Obscenity Through The Perspective Of Constitutional Morality
- IJLLR Journal
- 1 hour ago
- 1 min read
Sangram Satish Jadhav, Assistant Professor of Law, Government Law College Mumbai
ABSTRACT
Through the prism of constitutional morality, this article critically analyzes India's criminalization of obscenity, focusing on the conflict between societal norms of decency and individual liberty. Throughout history, the definition of obscenity has remained ambiguous and subjective, frequently influenced by governmental morality, court interpretation, and prevailing societal standards. Indian obscenity laws, which are mainly found in Sections 294 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and other related laws governing publications, digital content, and artistic expression, continue to raise serious constitutional issues with regard to the freedom of speech and expression protected by Article 19(1)(a) of the Indian Constitution. The progression of judicial standards from the Hicklin test to the modern community standards approach used by Indian courts is examined in this article. It also assesses how the Supreme Court of India's judicial rulings on constitutional morality offer a transformational framework that puts individual choice, equality, autonomy, and dignity ahead of majoritarian societal morality. The essay makes the case that the criminalization of obscenity must be interpreted narrowly to avoid arbitrary restrictions on expression by looking at significant rulings pertaining to artistic freedom, sexual expression, and privacy. It comes to the conclusion that in a democratic society, constitutional morality is an essential constitutional defense against moral paternalism and overbearing state control over individual and creative liberties.
