No additional restrictions can be imposed on free speech for MPs, MLAs: SC

New Delhi, January 3: Members of Parliament (MPs), ministers, and Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) have the same right to free speech as other citizens, Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday.

Additional restrictions on such public functionaries' fundamental right to free speech cannot be imposed, the Supreme Court added.

A Constitution Bench of Justices S Abdul Nazeer, AS Bopanna, BR Gavai, V Ramasubramanian, and BV Nagarathna ruled that restrictions on public functionaries' freedom of speech cannot go beyond what is specified in Article 19(2) of the Constitution, which is exhaustive and applies to all citizens.

The Court ruled that statements made by a minister about the government or its affairs could not be attributed vicariously to the government.

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In a separate decision, Justice BV Nagarathna stated that while freedom of speech and expression is essential for citizens to be well-informed and educated about governance, it cannot be used to incite hatred.

The case comes in the backdrop of a statement made by Azam Khan, then a minister in Uttar Pradesh, about gang rape victims.

The court was hearing a petition filed by a man seeking a transfer of the case to Delhi after his wife and daughter were allegedly gang-raped on a highway near Bulandshahr in July 2016.

The plea also demanded that Khan be charged in connection with his controversial statement that the gang rape case was a political conspiracy.