DEVIDAS RAMACHANDRA TULJAPURKAR V. STATE OF MAHARASHTRA: WHO IS BEING PROTECTED BY THE SUPREME COURT?

I. INTRODUCTION Over the course of years, the right to freedom of speech and expression (Hereinafter “the Right”) has gone through numerous debates. Some of which have led to its development and liberalization. Even though the right to freedom of speech and expression has existed in the constitution since its inception, thescope of the Right is not the same today as it was ten years ago. The case under question, Devidas Ramchandra Tuljapurkar v. State of Maharashtra2 , came before the Supreme Court of India with a very pertinent question of freedom of speech and expression in its bag. It’s one of the recent cases, which has created immense confusion due to its reasoning and self-contradicting judgment making one wonder as to which side is the court taking.In this case, the issue that the Supreme Court faced was whether the poem titled ‘Gandhi Mala Bhetala’, which was published for circulation amongst the members of a private union, could lead to framing of charges under §292 of the Indian Penal Code3 against the poet, publisher and printer4 if being of obscene nature.