Tearing Down Unauthorized Posters Not Illegal: Kerala HC Quashes Criminal Case Against Tourist For Removing Posters On Israel-Palestine Conflict

The incident occurred while the tourist was visiting Fort Kochi, where she came across two posters bearing the slogan "Silence is Violence, Stand up for humanity." Disturbed by these messages, she and a friend attempted to have them removed through the local tourism office, but when that proved unsuccessful, they decided to take matters into their own hands by tearing down the posters.

Following this action, a complaint was filed against her by the Area Secretary of the Students Islamic Organization, associated with the Jamaat-e-Islami. Consequently, a criminal complaint was registered under Section 153 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), which penalizes individuals for actions that could incite a riot.

Although the tourist managed to secure bail, she was barred from leaving the country due to a lookout notice issued against her, which resulted in her detention at the airport. In response, she challenged the validity of the criminal proceedings in the High Court.

A Bench of Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas said, “If a poster has been put up without authority, it is irrefutably an illegal act. Removal of an illegal poster cannot be said to be an illegal act done malignantly or wantonly, even if it is done by a private individual, though ideally, petitioner ought to have approached the law enforcement agencies, instead of tearing it by herself. Since tearing down a poster kept without any legal authority cannot strictly fall within the term illegal act, the main ingredient of Section 153 is lacking in the final report.”

Advocate Blaze K. Jose appeared for the Petitioner and Public Prosecutor Sreeja V appeared for the Respondents.

The Court granted her relief after concluding that the essential elements required for an offense under Section 153 of the IPC were absent in this case. The Court remarked, “the final report does not even allege that the posters were torn with the intention to provoke or knowing that it will provoke a person to commit the offence of rioting. The final report is totally silent as to whether the petitioner was aware that the tearing of the poster will cause the offence of rioting or provoke people to indulge in rioting.”

Ultimately, the Court quashed the criminal case against her.

Cause Title: Zara Michele Shilansk v. State of Kerala & Ors., [2024:KER:68941]

Appearance:

Petitioner: Advocates Blaze K. Jose, Nikhil Sanjay, Treesa Rose, and Airine Joby

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