BY- JAYA CHOUDHARY

The Karnataka High Court (HC) recently held in the case of Precilla D'Souza vs State Of Karnataka that the basic right to freedom of religion does not include the freedom to belittle other religions. The court held that no religion has the right to disparage other faiths in order to promote its own. Heads of faiths, kirtankars, or preachers of one faith should not demean other religions in any manner, according to Justice HP Sandesh.

On the basis of a complaint brought by a woman, the lawsuit was resolved out of court. Smt. Madhura A of Mangaluru had filed a complaint alleging that the two accused, Precilla D'souza and Samson John, had visited her home and ridiculed other religions in the name of Christianity. "Only the Bible can reveal the future; no other religious writings provide any knowledge," they claimed. They went on to say that neither the Bhagavad-Gita nor the Quran will bring anyone peace or come to their aid except Jesus Christ.

Follow NewsGram on Facebook to stay updated.

The petitioners were charged with outraging religious sentiments and insulting religion under Section 295A (outraging religious sentiments and insulting religion) read with Section 34 of the Indian Penal Code based on the complaint. The accused, on the other hand, petitioned the HC to overturn the decision to take notice of the complaint. They claimed that Article 25 safeguarded their right to do what they did. They further claimed that the complaint infringed on their rights under Article 14 (Right to Equality) and Article 21 (Right to Freedom of Expression) (Right to Life).

ALSO READ: Christianity in northeast India

In the process of evaluating the petition, the court remarked that there are specific charges against the defendants that they have devalued the other faith. "Having taken note of the complaint averments as well as the statements of witnesses, phrases are made while promoting with the purposeful goal of wounding the religious sensibilities of other religions. When such facts exist in a case, Section 298 of the IPC applies. As a result, the claim that the allegations leveled against the petitioners do not fall within Section 298 of the IPC and that issuing process against the petitioners would violate Articles 14, 21, and 25 of the Indian Constitution cannot be accepted." "While professing any faith, religious leaders or anybody else should not denigrate other religions," the court stated.

It is worth noting that the complaint was filed in 2016 and was ultimately addressed in 2020. Meanwhile, it remains to be seen when and if the accused will be held accountable for their disgraceful actions. While Christian missionaries have always been upfront about their aims in India and religious conversion, supremacist religious beliefs have recently moved out of classrooms and have entered into our country's residential societies, posing a great threat to our nation's cultures and values. These missionaries have brainwashed people to such an extent that they become comfortable in degrading and shaming the very religion they converted from.