Ujjwal PriyankAIR 10 · CSE 2025 · 212 wordsTheir whole copy
Opening · a constitutional or legal provision
The constitution guarantees right to freedom of speech and expression under article 19(1)(a) as a fundamental right.
However, there are certain reasonable restrictions on this freedom to ensure a vibrant democracy with a healthy society.
There is a growing demand for stricter regulation of online content based on following factors:
Body · points
(1) Protection of territorial sovereignty and integrity (2) Public order → Threatened due to recent communal violence over misinformation in Udaipur, etc. (3) Obscenity and vulgarity → The recent cases of "India got Latent" (4) Promoting friendly relation with foreign states (5) Incitement to offence. (6) Contempt of court etc.
However, there is also a demand to uphold freedom of speech and expression for ensuring that public views are upheld :
(1) Ensuring freedom of media : India ranks 150 on Press Freedom Index (2) Ensuring accessibility to information Which is true. Eg. Recent ANI case against Wikipedia.
(3) Upholding protection against private members as well Eg. Kaushal Kishore vs. State of UP 2023 judgement.
(4) Ensuring that freedom of speech does not dilutes Article 21.
Close · a summary
Eg. Section 66A of IT Act, 2000 struck down under Shreya Singhal case.
Thus, freedom of speech and expression must never be absolute; but balanced by restrictions which are reasonable and just for protecting national interests.