{"id":355995,"date":"2025-08-07T17:00:51","date_gmt":"2025-08-07T11:30:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/?p=355995"},"modified":"2025-08-08T15:58:41","modified_gmt":"2025-08-08T10:28:41","slug":"ker-hc-quashes-case-against-law-student-for-disrespecting-mahatama-gandhi-statue","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2025\/08\/07\/ker-hc-quashes-case-against-law-student-for-disrespecting-mahatama-gandhi-statue\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Undoubtedly immoral but not illegal\u2019; Kerala HC quashes case against law student for defiling Mahatma Gandhi\u2019s statue"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Kerala High Court:<\/span> In a petition filed by a law student (\u2018petitioner\u2019), accused under Sections 153<\/a> and 426<\/a> of the Penal Code, 1860<\/a> (\u2018IPC\u2019), of denigrating the image of Mahatma Gandhi, a Single Judge Bench of V.G. Arun<\/span>, J., quashed the case and held that while the objectionable conduct of the petitioner was undoubtedly immoral, it could not be termed illegal in the absence of a law preventing and prescribing punishment for such an act.<\/p>\n

Background:<\/h3>\n

On 21-12-2023, around 04:30 p.m., while preparing for the Christmas celebrations at the Bharata Mata School of Legal Studies, of which the petitioner was a student, he placed a pair of cooling glasses, and a Christmas wreath around the neck of the statue of Mahatma Gandhi installed inside the campus. It was alleged that the petitioner also commented that Gandhi was long dead. His act was videographed and posted in the students\u2019 WhatsApp group which led to discontent and complaints being submitted to the Principal. The case was registered, and he was also suspended from the college for five days and made to pay a fine of Rs 5000 to the Kerala State Legal Services Authority.<\/p>\n

The petitioner\u2019s counsel admitted that the petitioner’s conduct was unjustifiable but contended that it could not result in criminal prosecution under Section 153<\/a> IPC<\/a> since the conduct must not only be malignant but also illegal. It was stated that no law enacted by the Centre or the State prescribed punishment for defiling the statue of Mahatma Gandhi, although a private bill with such an objective was moved, but it did not get the Parliament\u2019s assent. The counsel further submitted that petitioner’s act had neither resulted in wrongful loss or damage to the public or to any person, nor had it caused destruction or damage to any property, or diminution in the value or utility of the property and therefore the offence of mischief was not attracted.<\/p>\n

Relying on B.N. John<\/span> v. State of U.P.<\/span>, 2025 SCC OnLine SC 7<\/span><\/a>, it was also contended that Section 426<\/a> IPC<\/a> being a non-cognizable offence, once prosecution for the offence under Section 153<\/a> IPC<\/a> was held unsustainable, registration of the crime itself would be rendered invalid in view of the interdiction contained in Section 155<\/a> of the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973<\/a> (\u2018CrPC\u2019). Finally, the petitioner\u2019s counsel pleaded that a lenient view be taken in the matter considering the petitioner’s young age and the fact that the act was not premeditated but committed on a rush of blood and realising his folly, he had removed the glasses and the garland immediately.<\/p>\n

The Public Prosecutor submitted that whether the act committed by the petitioner was wanton or malignant and was done with the intention to cause damage was to be decided based on the evidence to be tendered before the Trial Court and it would be inappropriate for this Court to intervene. The counsel for Respondent 3 also alleged that the petitioner’s act had resulted in a riotous situation due to the discontent and agitation among student and therefore, the offence under Section 153<\/a> IPC<\/a> was attracted and no leniency should be shown in this matter.<\/p>\n

Analysis and Decision:<\/h3>\n

The Court pointed out that although not specifically mentioned in Article 51A<\/a> of the Constitution<\/a>, it was the duty of every citizen to respect the freedom fighters who were instrumental in liberating our country from foreign rule. The Court observed that the petitioner\u2019s conduct was deplorable, and he should have known that the rights and freedom guaranteed by the Constitution ought to be tempered and moulded by the fundamental duties cast upon him.<\/p>\n

The Court observed that all immoral acts were not illegal acts and explained that illegal acts were behaviours or actions explicitly prohibited by law, enforceable by the State, and subject to legal penalties like fines or imprisonment, while immoral acts were behaviours considered wrong or unethical according to societal norms, personal values, or moral frameworks, which might not necessarily violated laws. The Court noted that not even the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971<\/a>, contained any provision against defilement of the images or statues of our national leaders and highlighted the principle of nullum crimen sine lege<\/span> meaning, no crime without law, which was fundamental to criminal law. Consequently, the Court held that the objectionable conduct of the petitioner was immoral but not illegal.<\/p>\n

Regarding the accusation of mischief, the Court opined that the act could be termed mischief in common parlance but even if the act committed by the petitioner hurt the sentiments of others, it could not be termed as mischief under IPC as the act did not result in any of the situations enumerated in Section 425.<\/p>\n

Therefore, allowing the petition, the Court quashed the final report and all the further proceedings in the case.<\/p>\n

[X v. State of Kerala, 2025 SCC OnLine Ker 5695<\/a>, decided on 30-07-2025<\/span>]<\/p>\n

\n

Advocates who appeared in this case:<\/p>\n

For the Petitioner:<\/span> S. Rajeev, V. Vinay, M.S. Aneer, Dipa V., Sarath K.P., Anilkumar C.R., K.S. Kiran Krishnan, Advocates.<\/p>\n

For the Respondents:<\/span> Hashim K.M., Jithin Alexander Sunny, Mohammed Ashraf, Aasif Muhammed P.M., Advocates.<\/p>\n

Buy Penal Code, 1860 \u00a0 HERE<\/a><\/h3>\n

\"penal<\/a><\/p>\n

Buy Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 \u00a0HERE<\/a><\/h3>\n

\"Code<\/a><\/p>\n

Buy Constitution of India \u00a0HERE<\/a><\/h3>\n

\"Constitution<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“The conduct of the petitioner was deplorable, and he should have known that the rights and freedom guaranteed by the Constitution ought to be tempered and moulded by the fundamental duties cast upon him.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":67011,"featured_media":356005,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,10],"tags":[86843,71458,2523,3420,86844,86842,66599,39242,86841],"class_list":["post-355995","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-casebriefs","category-highcourts","tag-article-51a-constitution","tag-justice-v-g-arun","tag-Kerala_High_Court","tag-Mahatma_Gandhi","tag-nullum-crimen-sine-lege","tag-prevention-of-insults-to-national-honour-act-1971","tag-section-153-ipc","tag-section-155-crpc","tag-section-425-ipc"],"yoast_head":"\nDisrespecting Mahatma Gandhi statue: Ker HC quashes case against law student | SCC Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Disrespecting Mahatma Gandhi statue: Kerala High Court quashed the case against a law student who was accused of defiling statue of Mahatma Gandhi by placing wreath and sunglasses.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2025\/08\/07\/ker-hc-quashes-case-against-law-student-for-disrespecting-mahatama-gandhi-statue\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"\u2018Undoubtedly immoral but not illegal\u2019; Kerala HC quashes case against law student for defiling Mahatma Gandhi\u2019s statue\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Disrespecting Mahatma Gandhi statue: Kerala High Court quashed the case against a law student who was accused of defiling statue of Mahatma Gandhi by placing wreath and sunglasses.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2025\/08\/07\/ker-hc-quashes-case-against-law-student-for-disrespecting-mahatama-gandhi-statue\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"SCC Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/scc.online\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-08-07T11:30:51+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-08-08T10:28:41+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Disrespecting-Mahatma-Gandhi-statue.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"886\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"590\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Editor\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"\u2018Undoubtedly immoral but not illegal\u2019; Kerala HC quashes case against law student for defiling Mahatma Gandhi\u2019s statue\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Editor\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.scconline.com\\\/blog\\\/post\\\/2025\\\/08\\\/07\\\/ker-hc-quashes-case-against-law-student-for-disrespecting-mahatama-gandhi-statue\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.scconline.com\\\/blog\\\/post\\\/2025\\\/08\\\/07\\\/ker-hc-quashes-case-against-law-student-for-disrespecting-mahatama-gandhi-statue\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Editor\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.scconline.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/84e42bab48238baf12c7e33b3d9761fe\"},\"headline\":\"\u2018Undoubtedly immoral but not illegal\u2019; Kerala HC quashes case against law student for defiling Mahatma Gandhi\u2019s statue\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-08-07T11:30:51+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-08-08T10:28:41+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.scconline.com\\\/blog\\\/post\\\/2025\\\/08\\\/07\\\/ker-hc-quashes-case-against-law-student-for-disrespecting-mahatama-gandhi-statue\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":885,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.scconline.com\\\/blog\\\/post\\\/2025\\\/08\\\/07\\\/ker-hc-quashes-case-against-law-student-for-disrespecting-mahatama-gandhi-statue\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.scconline.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/08\\\/Disrespecting-Mahatma-Gandhi-statue.webp\",\"keywords\":[\"Article 51A Constitution\",\"Justice V.G. 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Arun, J., while partly allowing the instant petition held that offence under Section 185 of Motor Vehicle Act, 1988 would be attracted only when alcohol content is detected through breath analyser test or in any other test including a laboratory test. 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Petitioner, a lawyer registered with the Bar Council of Kerala, who graduated with LL.B from the University of Kerala\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Case Briefs"","block_context":{"text":"Case Briefs","link":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/category\/casebriefs\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":358851,"url":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2025\/09\/03\/madras-hc-quashes-charges-over-mahatma-gandhi-statue-damage\/","url_meta":{"origin":355995,"position":3},"title":"\u2018TNPPDL Act doesn\u2019t cover private land\u2019; Madras HC quashes charges in Mahatma Gandhi statue damage incident at school","author":"Editor","date":"September 3, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"\u201cThe Trial Court, shall not act like a post master that receives the final report from the Police and blindly proceed to frame charges on the premise that the final report would be perfect in all respects.\u201d","rel":"","context":"In "Case Briefs"","block_context":{"text":"Case Briefs","link":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/category\/casebriefs\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Mahatma Gandhi statue damage","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Mahatma-Gandhi-statue-damage.webp?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Mahatma-Gandhi-statue-damage.webp?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Mahatma-Gandhi-statue-damage.webp?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Mahatma-Gandhi-statue-damage.webp?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":257615,"url":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2021\/11\/24\/ker-hc-mere-abusive-humiliating-or-defamative-words-by-itself-cannot-attract-an-offence-of-obscenity-under-section-294-b-of-ipc-hc-quashes-proceedings-against-person-who-allege\/","url_meta":{"origin":355995,"position":4},"title":"Ker HC | \u201cMere abusive, humiliating or defamative words by itself cannot attract an offence of obscenity under Section 294 (b) of IPC\u201d; HC quashes proceedings against person who allegedly harassed the Police","author":"Editor","date":"November 24, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Kerala High Court: Mohammed Nias C.P., J., quashed the proceedings against the petitioner for obstructing a police officer from performing his duty. 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Arun, J. allowed a provisional certificate to be issued to the petitioner. The government pleader contended that, if the family of the applicant owns more than 20 cents of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Case Briefs"","block_context":{"text":"Case Briefs","link":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/category\/casebriefs\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Kerala High Court","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/kerla_high_court.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/kerla_high_court.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/kerla_high_court.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/kerla_high_court.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/kerla_high_court.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]}],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/355995","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/67011"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=355995"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/355995\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/356005"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=355995"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=355995"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=355995"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}