Offences relating to religion

During Ganeshotsav in Mumbai a crowd gathers at a pandal. A man throws rubbish into the premises of a neighbouring dargah, another heckles the aarti with loudspeaker noise, and a third posts a video mocking a community's beliefs. Each act may hurt someone's faith, yet the law does not treat them alike. The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita separates damage to a place of worship, disturbance of worship, insult to a class's religion and the wounding of one person's feelings, and each has its own mental element.

In two minutes

BNS ss.298–302 (old IPC ss.295–298, Chapter XV) punish five distinct wrongs against religion: defiling places of worship, malicious insult to a class's religion, disturbing worship, trespass on burial places and wounding religious feelings.

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