Despite strong opposition from opposition parties BJP and JDS, the Congress government passed the Karnataka Hate Speech Bill on Wednesday (17 December 2025) during the ongoing winter session of the Karnataka Assembly in Belagavi. As soon as the bill was passed, there was a huge uproar in the House.
‘Crime has been defined on 11 grounds’
In this bill, hate speech has been defined as any statement made against any person or community with the intention of causing hurt, creating disharmony in the society or spreading hatred. In this, discrimination, hate speech or crime has been defined on 11 grounds, the objective of which is to protect the weaker sections of the society.
According to the bill, hate crime is defined as communication of hate speech. This includes creating, publishing, disseminating or propagating, inciting and promoting such material in any form, which is likely to spread disharmony or hatred in the society. The Bill defines communication as any expression made in public, whether orally, through print or publication, by electronic means or by any other means.
If you commit a crime again, you will get more punishment.
Under the proposed law, for the first time the offense will be punishable with a jail term of at least one year, which can be extended up to seven years, and a fine of Rs 50,000. In case of repeated offence, there is a provision of minimum two and maximum ten years of jail and a fine of one lakh rupees. Offenses under the law will be cognizable and non-bailable and will be tried by judicial magistrates. first class Will be done by.
These rights given to the magistrate in the bill
The bill also provides powers to take preventive action to maintain peace. Under this, Executive Magistrate, Special Executive Magistrate or police officers of DSP rank and above will be able to take necessary steps. Apart from this, provisions have also been made for crimes committed on behalf of any organization or institution. In such cases, the persons responsible at the relevant time will be considered accused and legal action can be taken against them.
Under the bill, a designated officer has also been given the power to direct service providers or intermediaries to block or remove content related to hate crimes from their platforms. Additionally, the courts have also been empowered to award appropriate compensation to the victims depending on the severity of the damage caused by the crime and its impact.
BJP opposed the bill
BJP has launched a scathing attack on the Congress government regarding this bill. BJP alleges that this bill has been brought with the aim of suppressing the voice of Hindus and it can be used to target political opponents.
