Justice Abhay Oka on Free Speech: Citizens Need Not Say Only What Rulers Like

Justice Abhay S Oka said citizens are not expected to say only what rulers like, and that 75 years into the Republic, a poem or a stand-up comic should not scare us.

He warned that democracy cannot survive unless criticism of governments and peaceful protests are protected.

He lamented that governments have increasingly failed to respect the constitutional guarantee of freedom of speech and expression.

He noted that dissenters are often prosecuted for expressing views contrary to those in power, citing cases involving denial of permission for peaceful protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, prosecution over a poem, criminal proceedings against stand-up comedians, and disciplinary action against a teacher.

He stressed that freedoms under Article 19 and right to life and personal liberty under Article 21 form the bedrock of India's constitutional democracy.

He said those in power must respond to criticism instead of criminalising it, and that governments are duty-bound to consider citizens' demands.

He remarked that police and the machinery seem unaware of fundamental rights protected under the Constitution.

The lecture was the inaugural Advocate Haroon Solkar Memorial Lecture, delivered in Mumbai on August 2, 2026.