India, March 29 -- Seventy-five years into India's independence, the mere recital of a poem or a stand-up comedy act cannot to be construed as a criminal offence that can shake the republic, the Supreme Court asserted on Friday as it quashed a first information report (FIR) against Congress parliamentarian Imran Pratapgarhi for posting a poem on social media.

"75 years into our republic, we cannot be seen to be so shaky on our fundamentals that mere recital of a poem or for that matter, any form of art or entertainment, such as, stand-up comedy, can be alleged to lead to animosity or hatred amongst different communities. Subscribing to such a view would stifle all legitimate expressions of view in the public domain which is so fundamenta...