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45. The Section contemplates intentionally insulting a person and thereby provoking such person insulted to break the peace or intentionally insulting a person knowing it to be likely that the person insulted may be provoked so as to cause a breach of the public peace or to commit any other offence. Mere abuse may not come within the purview of the section. But, the words of abuse in a particular case might amount to an intentional insult provoking the person insulted to commit a breach of the public peace or to commit any other offence. If abusive language is used intentionally and is of such a nature as would in the ordinary course of events lead the person insulted to break the peace or to commit an offence under the law, the case is not taken away from the purview of the section merely because the insulted person did not actually break the peace or commit any offence having exercised self-control or having been subjected to abject terror by the offender, In judging whether particular abusive language is attracted by Section 504 of the Indian Penal Code, the court has to find out what, in the ordinary circumstances, would be the effect of the abusive language used and not what the complainant actually did as a result of his peculiar diosyncrasy or cool temperament or sense of discipline. It is the ordinary general nature of the abusive language that is the test for considering whether the abusive language is an intentional insult likely to provoke the person insulted to commit a breach of the peace and not the particular conduct or temperament of the complainant. Mere abuse, discourtesy, rudeness or insolence, may not amount to an intentional insult within the meaning of Section 504 of the Indian Penal Code, if it does not have the necessary element of being likely to incite the person insulted to commit a breach of the peace of an offence and the other element of the accused intending to provoke the person insulted to commit a breach of the peace or knowing that the person insulted is likely to commit a breach of the peace. Each case of abusive language shall have to be decided in the light of the facts and circumstances of that case and there cannot be a general proposition that no one commits an offence under Section 504 of the Indian Penal Code, if he merely uses abusive language against the complainant.

Section 504 does not make it an offence to use abusive language which may lead to a breach of the public peace. There must be an intentional insult. Now an insult may be offered by words or conduct, but in my opinion when the charge is of an insult by words, the words must amount to something more than what in English Law is called "mere vulgar abuse". If abusive language is used in such circumstances that the court comes to the conclusion that it cannot possibly have been intended, and cannot have been understood by those to whom it was addressed to have been intended, to be taken literally, then I think the language cannot beheld to amount to an intentional insult. No doubt the use of abusive language may form an important part of an insult by conduct. But in this case there was nothing insulting in the accused's conduct apart from the language he used. He did not adopt a loud and insolent tone, and indeed did not intend his remark to be heard. I think therefore that there was no intention to insult. If, however, I am wrong in that, I think further that the insult, if any, was not intended or known by the accused to be likely to lead to a breach of the public peace or any other offence. It was no doubt perfectly natural for the share-holders present to recent the use of this rude language, and to call the attention of the Chairman to the conduct of the accused in using it, and it was proper for the Chairman to deal with the accused. But I cannot conceive that it was likely that the persons present at the meeting would so far lose control of themselves as to commit a breach of the public peace when they had got the chairman of the meeting in control and capable of dealing with the matter.