Now Reading: Supreme Court questions hate speech FIR over ‘breast tax’ Facebook post
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Supreme Court questions hate speech FIR over ‘breast tax’ Facebook post
Supreme Court questions hate speech FIR over ‘breast tax’ Facebook post
The Story in Brief
The Supreme Court on Monday, 26 October 2026 questioned the registration of a criminal FIR against social worker Rupnarayan Ekka over a Facebook post on ‘breast tax’. ‘What is there to file an FIR for? Concentrate on big cases. Not cases like this,’ Justice R Mahadevan remarked during the hearing before a bench of Justices BV Nagarathna and R Mahadevan.
Ekka’s post claimed that the tax once imposed on women for covering their breasts was the doing of Brahmins and not Mughal emperor Aurangzeb. Advocate Prashant Bhushan argued it did not constitute an offence. The Chhattisgarh High Court had rejected Ekka’s anticipatory bail plea in December 2025 and again in July 2026, noting he appeared to be a habitual offender with similar cases.
The State said Ekka had not appeared at the police station since notice was issued on September 9. The bench adjourned the matter to December 4 and extended interim protection from coercive action, saying, ‘You summon him. He will appear.’
Indian Opinion Analysis
Barandbench and Lawbeat provide nearly identical straight reportage of the October 26 hearing, both leading with the judges' sharp remarks questioning why the FIR was filed. The only divergence is in tone of detail: Lawbeat quotes the full High Court order noting that Ekka was described as a ‘habitual offender’ with a third similar case, while Barandbench omits that finding. The critical reading is that the judicial displeasure at the police's use of time is the same in both accounts, the Supreme Court has adjourned the matter to December 4 and extended interim protection until then, which is the concrete next step.
Coverage: 2 sources, 2 neutral
Sources (2): barandbench.com (neutral report), lawbeat.in (neutral report)
This brief was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above, so one read covers every framing they carry. Methodology and corrections.
