500% rise in cases filed under hate-speech law in seven years: NCRB

Cases filed under Indian Penal Code (IPC) Section 153A (promotion of enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language) saw a sixfold or almost a 500 per cent increase between 2014 and 2020, according to the National Crime Records Bureau data.

While 2014 (323 cases) saw the least number of cases in seven years, the year 2020, with 1,804 cases, saw the highest.

In 2020, Tamil Nadu (303) registered the highest number of cases under this Section, followed by Uttar Pradesh (243), Telangana (151), Assam (147), and Andhra Pradesh (142).

Similarly, cases filed under