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The Supreme Court has ruled that calling someone “Miyan-Tiyan” or “Pakistani” may be distasteful but does not constitute an offence of hurting religious sentiments. A bench comprising Justices BV Nagarathna and Satish Chandra Sharma made this observation while dismissing a case against a man accused of referring to a government servant as “Pakistani.”

The court stated, “The appellant is accused of offending the religious sentiments of the complainant by addressing him as ‘Miyan-Tiyan’ and ‘Pakistani.’ While such remarks are certainly inappropriate, they do not amount to an offence of hurting religious feelings.”

The complaint was filed by an Urdu translator and acting clerk in Jharkhand, who alleged that the accused had insulted him by making remarks about his religion when he visited the latter to provide information regarding a Right to Information (RTI) application.

The Supreme Court noted that the accused’s actions did not incite any breach of peace. Additionally, the court clarified that there was no physical assault or use of force that could invoke Section 353 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), which pertains to deterring a public servant from performing official duties.