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Showing contexts for: decency in Farooq Ahmad Bhat vs State Of J&K; & Another on 7 September, 2018Matching Fragments
(e) to reside and settle in any part of the territory of India; and *****
(g) to practise any profession, or to carry on any occupation, trade or business.
(2) Nothing in sub-clause (a) of clause (1) shall affect the operation of any existing law, or prevent the State from making any law, in so far as such law imposes reasonable restrictions on the exercise of the right conferred by the said sub-clause in the interests of the sovereignty and integrity of India, the security of the State, friendly relations with foreign States, public order, decency or morality, or in relation to contempt of court, defamation or incitement to an offence.
24. While it is necessary to maintain and preserve freedom of speech and expression in a democracy, so also it is necessary to place certain curbs on this freedom for maintenance of social and public order. No freedom can be absolute or completely unrestricted. So, under Article 19(2), the State may make a law imposing reasonable restrictions on the exercise of right to freedom of speech and expression in the interests of the security of the State, friendly relations with foreign States, public order, decency, morality, sovereignty and integrity of India or incitement to an offence. The expression used in Article 19(2) "in the interests of" furnishes a wide amplitude to the permissible law, which can be enacted to impose reasonable restrictions on the right guaranteed by Article 19 (1)(a) under one of the heads mentioned in Article 19 (2). A glance at the grounds contained in Article 19(2) goes to show that they are all conceived in national interest or in the interest of society. The first set of grounds, viz., sovereignty and integrity of India, the security of the State, friendly relations with foreign States and public order - are all grounds referable to national interest; whereas the second set of grounds, viz., decency, morality, contempt of Court, defamation and incitement to offence, are all conceived in the interest of society.