The Supreme Court has ruled that the use of abusive or indecent language does not automatically amount to obscenity under the law, observing that words can be considered obscene only if they promote sexuality or have the tendency to corrupt people.
A bench of Justices Sanjay Karol and Vipul M. Pancholi made the observation while hearing an appeal in a 2017 Tamil Nadu case involving a land dispute.
According to the case, the accused, Mani, allegedly abused the complainant during an argument over land, used casteist slurs, and later attacked him with a weapon, fracturing his nasal bone. A trial court had convicted him of obscenity, grievous hurt, and criminal intimidation.
The Supreme Court set aside his convictions for obscenity and criminal intimidation, holding that there was no evidence to show that the alleged abusive language caused public distress or met the legal threshold for obscenity.
However, the court upheld his conviction under Section 326 of the Indian Penal Code for causing grievous hurt. Considering that the accused is around 70 years old and suffers from health issues, the bench reduced his sentence to “imprisonment till the rising of the court” and directed him to pay a fine of ₹50,000 within two months.
Recent courtroom misconduct
The ruling comes days after an incident in the Supreme Court in which a lawyer allegedly used abusive language, created a ruckus, and threw a file during proceedings before a bench of Justices KV Viswanathan and Alok Aradhe. The Chief Justice was not present in the courtroom at the time. Security personnel removed the lawyer, who was later taken for questioning by Delhi Police.
The Supreme Court has witnessed only a handful of serious incidents of courtroom misconduct involving the Chief Justice. In 1999, advocate Nandlal Balwani threw a shoe at then Chief Justice AS Anand and was later convicted of criminal contempt, receiving a four-month jail sentence and a fine.
October 6, 2025 Incident of Shoe-Throwing in CJI BR Gavai’s Courtroom
In another incident in October 2025, a lawyer threw a shoe toward Chief Justice B.R. Gavai during a hearing. The shoe did not hit the Chief Justice, and security personnel immediately detained the accused. The Bar Council also initiated disciplinary proceedings. Following the incident, the Chief Justice urged lawyers to continue with the hearing, saying such actions did not affect him.
