The bill is the first such law in the country; it was passed amid a din created by BJP legislators
BELAGAVI — The Hate Speech and Hate Crimes Prevention Bill, 2025, passed in the Karnataka Assembly on Thursday, seeks to make hate speech a cognizable, non-bailable offence for which offenders can face trial at the court of Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMFC).
The bill is the first such law in the country.
In case of an organisation or an institution, every person who, at the time of the offence was in charge and was responsible shall be deemed guilty and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly, the bill states.
The bill envisages a maximum imprisonment of seven years and a fine of Rs50,000 on anyone committing hate crime.
The bill was passed amid a din and furore created by the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislators.
The Hate Speech and Hate Crimes (Prevention) Bill, the first such law in the country, has a provision for a jail term up to seven years and fine up to rupees one lakh.
The bill, cleared by the cabinet on December 4, was presented in the House by Home Minister G Parameshwara on December 10.
The minister said the provision for 10 years jail term in the event of repeated offence has been reduced to seven years.
The bill was taken up for discussion in the Assembly in Belagavi, where Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara detailed its provisions and explained the need to clearly define hate speech and hate crimes within a legal framework.
Defining hate speech, Parameshwara said it refers to “the communication of hate speech by making, publishing, or circulating, or any act of promoting, propagating, inciting, abetting, or attempting such hate speech to cause disharmony or feelings of enmity, hatred, or ill-will against any person (dead or alive) or a group of persons or an organisation.”
Explaining the intent of the legislation, the Home Minister said that hate crimes needed a precise definition to effectively address statements and actions that target specific communities. “It’s about someone speaking out against a particular community,” he said.
Citing examples of statements that incite violence or pit one community against another, he said, “I have some newspaper clippings here regarding hate speeches. Look at what has been said in them — ‘We should go and kill someone tomorrow morning,’ or words that pit one community against another, saying they should all be ‘beaten down’.”
Parameshwara also outlined the penalties under the new law. “Whoever commits hate crimes shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than one year, but which may be extended to seven years, and with a fine of Rs 50,000,” he said.
He added that for subsequent or repeated offences (two or three times), the punishment would be increased. — With inputs from agencies
