‘F-word’ may be offensive, but not obscene: Supreme Court on abusive language

The Supreme Court has clarified that using the "f" word, even when reproduced verbatim in a judgment, does not automatically constitute a criminal offense. The court emphasized that criminal law requires a significantly higher threshold for obscenity than mere profanity exchanged in anger.

In a ruling delivered on Friday, justices Sanjay Karol and Vipul M Pancholi distinguished between vulgarity and obscenity. They examined whether the use of the expletive during a heated altercation met the criteria for criminal liability under Section 294(b) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

The bench partially allowed an appeal filed by an individual named Mani, who had been convicted by lower courts in Tamil Nadu. While Mani's conviction for causing grievous hurt with a dangerous weapon under Section 326 IPC was upheld, his convictions for obscenity under Section 294(b) and criminal intimidation under Section 506(ii) were set aside. The court found that the evidence did not support these latter charges.

The judgment reiterated previous precedents, stating that not all crude or offensive expressions are criminalized. For an utterance to be considered obscene, it must be shown to be lascivious, appeal to prurient interests, and have the tendency to deprave and corrupt minds. The court noted that while expressions using the "f" word or profanities with sexual connotations can be insulting or offensive, this alone does not make them legally obscene.

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For an utterance to be considered obscene, it must be shown that it was lascivious, appealed to prurient interests and had the tendency to deprave and corrupt the minds of those who are exposed to it…Such words, howsoever abusive, unpalatable or uncivil, do not satisfy the requirement of Section 294(b).