Religious Insults under BNS Section 299

Section 299 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 criminalises an insult, or attempted insult, to the religion or religious beliefs of a class of Indian citizens when committed with a deliberate and malicious intention to outrage their religious feelings. It substantially corresponds to Section 295A of the former Indian Penal Code while expressly covering electronic means.

Essential ingredients

The prosecution must establish every constituent element of the offence.

• The object of the act must be the religion or religious beliefs of a class of citizens of India.
• The accused must insult or attempt to insult that religion or those beliefs.
• The act may occur through spoken or written words, signs, visible representations, electronic means, or otherwise.
• The act must carry the specific intention of outraging the religious feelings of the targeted class.

Mental element and judicial interpretation

The words deliberate and malicious impose a strict mental element. Mere insult, negligence or an objectionable opinion is insufficient unless the required intention is proved from the expression, its context and surrounding circumstances.

• In Ramji Lal Modi v. State of U.P. (1957), the Supreme Court held, regarding the corresponding IPC provision, that only aggravated forms of religious insult committed with deliberate and malicious intention are punishable.
• The Court connected the restriction with public order under Article 19(2), rather than treating every affront to religious sentiment as an offence.

Punishment and free-speech balance

The offence is punishable with imprisonment of either description for up to three years, a fine, or both. Its narrow mens rea requirement seeks to balance protection against intentionally provocative religious insults with the freedom of speech guaranteed by Article 19(1)(a).