SC quashes FIR against Congress MP Imran Pratapgarhi over Instagram post: 'Judges must protect freedom of speech'

The Supreme Court said courts are duty bound to uphold and enforce the fundamental rights guaranteed under the Constitution of India.

In a major reprieve for Congress party's Rajya Sabha MP Imran Pratapgarhi in a case over a poem that featured in a video clip shared on Instagram, the Supreme Court on Friday quashed an FIR filed by the Gujarat police in the matter and ruled that no offence had been made out against the petitioner.

A top court bench of Justices Abhay Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan was hearing a petition filed by Pratapgarhi against the FIR registered by the Gujarat police. In a post on Instagram, Pratapgarhi shared a video clip with the poem "Ae khoon ke pyase baat suno" playing in the background, leading to the FIR.

In its judgment, the bench underlined the importance of protecting the freedom of speech and expression and reminded the courts and the police of their duty to uphold the rights of persons expressing unpopular opinions.

Reading out relevant excerpts from the judgment, Justice Oka said that free expression of thoughts and views is an integral part of a healthy civilized society and that it was impossible to lead a dignified life guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution without freedom of expression of thoughts and views.

"In a healthy democracy, the views of thoughts expressed by an individual or group of individuals must be countered by expressing another point of view," the court said, adding that the right of person to express the views must be respected and protected even if a large number of persons dislike the views expressed by another.

Justice Oka further said that courts are duty bound to uphold and enforce the fundamental rights guaranteed under the Constitution of India. "Sometimes, we the judges may not like the spoken or written words, but still, it is our duty to uphold the fundamental rights under Article 19(1). We judges are also under an obligation to uphold the Constitution and the respective ideals."

"It is the duty of the court to step in and to protect the fundamental rights. Particularly, the Constitutional courts must be at the forefront to zealously protect the fundamental rights of the citizens. It is the bounden duty of the court to ensure that the Constitution and ideals of the Constitution are not trampled upon," the order further read.

In a rap on the knuckles for the Gujarat police for registering the FIR, he court noted that police officers must abide by the Constitution and respect ideals. "The philosophy of the constitutional ideals can be found in the Constitution itself. In the preamble, it is laid down that the people of India solemnly decided to constitute India into a sovereign, socialist, secular, democratic republic and to secure for all its citizens liberty of thought and expression. Therefore. Liberty of thought and expression is one of the ideals of our Constitution...The police officers being citizens are bound to abide by the constitution and they are bound to uphold the right," the court further observed.

The FIR was registered in Jamnagar under Sections 196, 197, 299, 302, and 57 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023. On January 17, 2025, the Gujarat High Court refused to quash the FIR, noting that the poem's content had references to “the throne” and that responses to the post suggested a potential disturbance in social harmony.

The High Court said that as an MP, Pratapgarhi was expected to know the repercussions of such posts and avoid actions that could disrupt social harmony. Pratapgarhi challenged the High Court's decision before the Supreme Court.