{"id":376886,"date":"2026-02-26T15:00:35","date_gmt":"2026-02-26T09:30:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/?p=376886"},"modified":"2026-03-03T09:27:34","modified_gmt":"2026-03-03T03:57:34","slug":"bombay-hc-intention-to-insult-essential-under-national-honour-act","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2026\/02\/26\/bombay-hc-intention-to-insult-essential-under-national-honour-act\/","title":{"rendered":"“Intention to insult is essential under the National Honour Act”: Bombay HC quashes FIR against 85-year-old over alleged inverted display of the National Flag"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Bombay High Court:<\/span> While hearing a petition under Section 482<\/a>, Criminal Procedure Code, 1973<\/a>, a Single Judge Bench of Ashwin D. Bhobe<\/span>, J., observed that mere presence at a flag-hoisting ceremony cannot constitute an offence under the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971<\/a> (National Honour Act). The Court emphasised that mens rea<\/span> is an essential ingredient of the offence and, finding no material to show intentional inverted display of the National Flag, held that the FIR, chargesheet, and the Magistrate’s order taking cognizance were unsustainable. Accordingly, the Court quashed the proceedings against the applicant.<\/p>\n

Background<\/h3>\n

The matter arose from an FIR registered on Republic Day 2017, when police officers reported that the National Flag hoisted at a residential society was inverted. The FIR alleged that members present during the ceremony had committed an offence under Section 2(4)(l)<\/a>, National Honour Act<\/a>. The applicant, an elderly person suffering ailments, was present at the ceremony but had not hoisted the flag.<\/p>\n

It was contended on behalf of the applicant that the FIR and chargesheet lacked material to show intentional hoisting of the flag in an inverted position. It was further submitted that no independent witnesses supported the allegation and that the terrace where the flag was hoisted was not a “public place” within the meaning of the National Honour Act. It was highlighted that the applicant had tendered an unconditional apology to avoid further distress.<\/p>\n

On the other hand, the prosecution relied on the statement of the society’s watchman, who noted the presence of members during the flag hoisting, and argued that the offence was made out.<\/p>\n

Analysis and Decision<\/h3>\n

The Court emphasised that the offence charged is under Section 2(4)(l)<\/a>, National Honour Act<\/a>, wherein a person who, in any public place, intentionally displays the Indian National Flag with the “saffron” downwards is said to have committed the offence. The Court observed that neither the statement of the watchman nor any material collected by the prosecution on record indicated that the applicant hoisted or displayed the Indian National Flag, or was involved in its display, on 26 January 2017. Similarly, the Court noted that there was no material-on-record to show that any act of the applicant was intended to insult or show disrespect to the honour of the Indian National Flag.<\/p>\n

The Court emphasised that to constitute the offence under Section 2(4)(l)<\/a>, National Honour Act<\/a>, the display of the Indian National Flag in an inverted manner must be intentional, thus, mens rea<\/span> to cause insult or disrespect, or to bring the Indian National Flag into contempt, would be required. The Court also highlighted that the applicant’s mere presence at the place of hoisting of the Flag, as alleged, would not amount to an offence under Section 2(4)(l)<\/a>, National Honour Act<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Court observed that, on perusal of the order dated 3 July 2017 (the order), no reasons, even for namesake, had been assigned by the Magistrate, as the said order was non-speaking. Since taking cognizance is a judicial act that requires the application of mind, the absence of reasons rendered the order defective. The Court referred to Lalankumar Singh<\/span> v. State of Maharashtra<\/span>, (2023) 236 Comp Cas 741<\/a>, wherein the Supreme Court held that the Magistrate is required to apply his mind as to whether sufficient ground for proceeding exists in the case or not, thereby making the order liable to be set aside if no reasons are given therein while coming to the conclusion that there is a prima facie case against the accused.<\/p>\n

Therefore, the Court emphasised that the order did not disclose that the Magistrate considered the material available on record, hence, it was illegal and warranted interference. The Court stressed that the case fell within the principles laid down in State of Haryana<\/span> v. Bhajan Lal<\/span>, 1992 Supp (1) SCC 335<\/a>, warranting exercise of powers to prevent abuse of process under Section 528<\/a>, Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Accordingly, the Court allowed the application with no order as to costs and quashed the FIR, chargesheet, and the order taking cognizance against the applicant.<\/p>\n

[V. K. Narayanan<\/span> v. State of Maharashtra<\/span>, 2026 SCC OnLine Bom 1438<\/a>, decided on 23-2-2026<\/span>]<\/p>\n\n

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

For the Applicant:<\/span> Rajendra Sonwal, Advocate<\/p>\n

For the Respondent:<\/span> Pallavi Dabhokar, APP<\/p>\n

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

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

“Neither the statement of the watchman nor any material collected by the prosecution on record indicated that the applicant hoisted or displayed the Indian National Flag, or was involved in its display, on 26 January 2017.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":67537,"featured_media":376887,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,10],"tags":[31236,2569,70482,58562,99626,99624,99625,76315,29904,99622,99627,99623],"class_list":["post-376886","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-casebriefs","category-highcourts","tag-abuse-of-process","tag-Bombay_High_Court","tag-cognizance-order","tag-fir-quashed","tag-fundamental-requirement","tag-intention-to-insult","tag-inverted-flag","tag-justice-ashwin-d-bhobe","tag-mens-rea","tag-national-honour-act","tag-national-integrity","tag-section-24l"],"yoast_head":"\nIntention to insult essential under National Honour Act: Bombay HC | SCC Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Bombay High Court rules that intention to insult is essential under National Honour Act and quashes FIR against 85-year-old, holding that mere presence at a flag-hoisting ceremony is not an offence.\" \/>\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\/2026\/02\/26\/bombay-hc-intention-to-insult-essential-under-national-honour-act\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\""Intention to insult is essential under the National Honour Act": Bombay HC quashes FIR against 85-year-old over alleged inverted display of the National Flag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Bombay High Court rules that intention to insult is essential under National Honour Act and quashes FIR against 85-year-old, holding that mere presence at a flag-hoisting ceremony is not an offence.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2026\/02\/26\/bombay-hc-intention-to-insult-essential-under-national-honour-act\/\" \/>\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=\"2026-02-26T09:30:35+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-03-03T03:57:34+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/National-Honour-Act.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"533\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Soumya Yadav\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\""Intention to insult is essential under the National Honour Act": Bombay HC quashes FIR against 85-year-old over alleged inverted display of the National Flag\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Soumya Yadav\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2026\/02\/26\/bombay-hc-intention-to-insult-essential-under-national-honour-act\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2026\/02\/26\/bombay-hc-intention-to-insult-essential-under-national-honour-act\/\",\"name\":\"Intention to insult essential under National Honour Act: Bombay HC | SCC Times\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2026\/02\/26\/bombay-hc-intention-to-insult-essential-under-national-honour-act\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2026\/02\/26\/bombay-hc-intention-to-insult-essential-under-national-honour-act\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/National-Honour-Act.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-02-26T09:30:35+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-03-03T03:57:34+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/352812a68de79340babca39b2fea18c7\"},\"description\":\"Bombay High Court rules that intention to insult is essential under National Honour Act and quashes FIR against 85-year-old, holding that mere presence at a flag-hoisting ceremony is not an offence.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2026\/02\/26\/bombay-hc-intention-to-insult-essential-under-national-honour-act\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2026\/02\/26\/bombay-hc-intention-to-insult-essential-under-national-honour-act\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2026\/02\/26\/bombay-hc-intention-to-insult-essential-under-national-honour-act\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/National-Honour-Act.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/National-Honour-Act.webp\",\"width\":800,\"height\":533,\"caption\":\"National Honour Act\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2026\/02\/26\/bombay-hc-intention-to-insult-essential-under-national-honour-act\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"“Intention to insult is essential under the National Honour Act”: Bombay HC quashes FIR against 85-year-old over alleged inverted display of the National Flag\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"SCC Times\",\"description\":\"Bringing you the Best Analytical Legal News\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/352812a68de79340babca39b2fea18c7\",\"name\":\"Soumya Yadav\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2363aa3509ea5744057dbee913f279c33e94e40e89a96de9ff58ec27fde9881d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2363aa3509ea5744057dbee913f279c33e94e40e89a96de9ff58ec27fde9881d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Soumya Yadav\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/author\/soumya\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Intention to insult essential under National Honour Act: Bombay HC | SCC Times","description":"Bombay High Court rules that intention to insult is essential under National Honour Act and quashes FIR against 85-year-old, holding that mere presence at a flag-hoisting ceremony is not an offence.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2026\/02\/26\/bombay-hc-intention-to-insult-essential-under-national-honour-act\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"\"Intention to insult is essential under the National Honour Act\": Bombay HC quashes FIR against 85-year-old over alleged inverted display of the National Flag","og_description":"Bombay High Court rules that intention to insult is essential under National Honour Act and quashes FIR against 85-year-old, holding that mere presence at a flag-hoisting ceremony is not an offence.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2026\/02\/26\/bombay-hc-intention-to-insult-essential-under-national-honour-act\/","og_site_name":"SCC Times","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/scc.online\/","article_published_time":"2026-02-26T09:30:35+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-03-03T03:57:34+00:00","og_image":[{"width":800,"height":533,"url":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/National-Honour-Act.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Soumya Yadav","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_title":"\"Intention to insult is essential under the National Honour Act\": Bombay HC quashes FIR against 85-year-old over alleged inverted display of the National Flag","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Soumya Yadav","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2026\/02\/26\/bombay-hc-intention-to-insult-essential-under-national-honour-act\/","url":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2026\/02\/26\/bombay-hc-intention-to-insult-essential-under-national-honour-act\/","name":"Intention to insult essential under National Honour Act: Bombay HC | SCC Times","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2026\/02\/26\/bombay-hc-intention-to-insult-essential-under-national-honour-act\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2026\/02\/26\/bombay-hc-intention-to-insult-essential-under-national-honour-act\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/National-Honour-Act.webp","datePublished":"2026-02-26T09:30:35+00:00","dateModified":"2026-03-03T03:57:34+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/352812a68de79340babca39b2fea18c7"},"description":"Bombay High Court rules that intention to insult is essential under National Honour Act and quashes FIR against 85-year-old, holding that mere presence at a flag-hoisting ceremony is not an offence.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2026\/02\/26\/bombay-hc-intention-to-insult-essential-under-national-honour-act\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2026\/02\/26\/bombay-hc-intention-to-insult-essential-under-national-honour-act\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2026\/02\/26\/bombay-hc-intention-to-insult-essential-under-national-honour-act\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/National-Honour-Act.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/National-Honour-Act.webp","width":800,"height":533,"caption":"National Honour Act"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2026\/02\/26\/bombay-hc-intention-to-insult-essential-under-national-honour-act\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"“Intention to insult is essential under the National Honour Act”: Bombay HC quashes FIR against 85-year-old over alleged inverted display of the National Flag"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/","name":"SCC Times","description":"Bringing you the Best Analytical Legal News","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/352812a68de79340babca39b2fea18c7","name":"Soumya Yadav","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2363aa3509ea5744057dbee913f279c33e94e40e89a96de9ff58ec27fde9881d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2363aa3509ea5744057dbee913f279c33e94e40e89a96de9ff58ec27fde9881d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Soumya Yadav"},"url":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/author\/soumya\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/National-Honour-Act.webp","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":355745,"url":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2025\/08\/05\/not-lowering-national-flag-after-sunset-kerala-hc-criminal-case-quashed\/","url_meta":{"origin":376886,"position":0},"title":"\u2018Mere lapse in not lowering National Flag after sunset not gross affront or insult\u2019; Kerala HC quashes criminal case dating back to 2015","author":"Apoorva","date":"August 5, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"\u201cTo attract the offence under Section 2 of the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971, a person should burn, mutilate, deface, defile, disfigure, destroy, trample upon or otherwise show disrespect to or bring into contempt, the Indian National Flag or the Constitution of India or any part thereof,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Case Briefs"","block_context":{"text":"Case Briefs","link":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/category\/casebriefs\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"not lowering National Flag after sunset","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/not-lowering-National-Flag-after-sunset.webp?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/not-lowering-National-Flag-after-sunset.webp?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/not-lowering-National-Flag-after-sunset.webp?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/not-lowering-National-Flag-after-sunset.webp?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":250745,"url":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2021\/07\/05\/national-flag\/","url_meta":{"origin":376886,"position":1},"title":"Gau HC | Is using of National Flag as a table cloth Sedition? HC grants bail to the woman accused of willfully dishonouring the National Flag","author":"Editor","date":"July 5, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Gauhati High Court: Manish Choudhury, J., granted bail to the woman charged with sedition for using National Flag as a table cloth. The petitioner, Ms Rajina Parbin Sultana was booked under Sections 120B\/124A IPC and Section 2 of the Prevention of Insult to National Honour Act, 1971 and had been\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":253585,"url":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2021\/09\/02\/national-flag-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":376886,"position":2},"title":"MP HC | Flag Code is not \u201claw\u201d under Art. 13 of Constitution, but mere compendium of executive instructions; flying of National Flag between sunset and sunrise not contemptuous","author":"Editor","date":"September 2, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Madhya Pradesh High Court: S.A. Dharmadhikari, J., allowed a petition which was filed invoking inherent powers of this Court under Section 482 of the CrPC seeking quashment of FIR registered alleging offence punishable under Section 2 of the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971 (1971 Act). A complaint\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":378755,"url":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2026\/03\/18\/bombay-hc-sets-aside-16-year-old-case-against-lawyer\/","url_meta":{"origin":376886,"position":3},"title":"Bombay HC sets aside 16-year-old case against lawyer, rules allegations fail to meet IPC and SC\/ST Atrocities Act requirements","author":"Soumya Yadav","date":"March 18, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"\u201cTo attract Section 3(1)(r), Atrocities Act, the FIR or material on record needed to show that the petitioner intentionally insulted or intimidated the respondent and that he did so with the intent to humiliate the respondent at a place within public view.\u201d","rel":"","context":"In "Case Briefs"","block_context":{"text":"Case Briefs","link":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/category\/casebriefs\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"16-year-old case against lawyer","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/16-year-old-case-against-lawyer.webp?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/16-year-old-case-against-lawyer.webp?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/16-year-old-case-against-lawyer.webp?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/16-year-old-case-against-lawyer.webp?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":355675,"url":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2025\/08\/05\/ph-hc-denies-pre-arrest-bail-for-hoisting-saffron-flag-on-mosque\/","url_meta":{"origin":376886,"position":4},"title":"Punjab & Haryana High Court denies anticipatory bail to person accused of hoisting saffron flag on Mosque","author":"Editor","date":"August 5, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"The accused had hoisted a saffron flag on a Mosque, replacing the National Flag already in place with an intent to hurt religious feelings of the members of Muslim community.","rel":"","context":"In "Case Briefs"","block_context":{"text":"Case Briefs","link":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/category\/casebriefs\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"saffron flag on Mosque","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/saffron-flag-on-Mosque.webp?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/saffron-flag-on-Mosque.webp?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/saffron-flag-on-Mosque.webp?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/saffron-flag-on-Mosque.webp?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":370978,"url":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2025\/12\/26\/bombay-hc-quashes-sc-st-act-fir-against-tv-channel-scc-times\/","url_meta":{"origin":376886,"position":5},"title":"Mere Reference to Caste Name Not an Offence Unless Used to Intentionally Insult or Humiliate: Bombay High Court Quashes FIR Against Marathi TV Channel Executives","author":"Ritu","date":"December 26, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"No specific allegation was made that the petitioners, who were not members of a scheduled caste or scheduled tribe, had intentionally undertaken an act to insult, intimidate or humiliate the first informant, who is a member of the scheduled caste.","rel":"","context":"In "Case Briefs"","block_context":{"text":"Case Briefs","link":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/category\/casebriefs\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"FIR Against TV Channel Executives","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/FIR-Against-TV-Channel-Executives.webp?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/FIR-Against-TV-Channel-Executives.webp?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/FIR-Against-TV-Channel-Executives.webp?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/FIR-Against-TV-Channel-Executives.webp?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/376886","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\/67537"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=376886"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/376886\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/376887"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=376886"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=376886"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=376886"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}