The Allahabad High Court has held that the “unsaid words” and “subtle message” in a WhatsApp message can amount to promoting enmity between religious communities, even if the message does not explicitly mention religion. A division bench of Justices J J Munir and Pramod Kumar Srivastava last month dismissed a petition filed by Afaq Ahmad, a resident of Bijnor, Uttar Pradesh, seeking to quash an FIR filed against him for allegedly spreading religious hatred.

On Sunday, Bijnor police filed a second FIR against Afaq under BNS sections relating to criminal intimidation and breach of peace. A separate FIR each has been filed against his brother and his uncle.

In its ruling passed on September 26, the HC held that the WhatsApp message that Afaq sent after his brother was arrested in a case of

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