Can't place more restrictions on political officials' right to speech: SC

The Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled additional restrictions cannot be imposed on the fundamental right of freedom of speech and expression of high public functionaries as exhaustive grounds already exist under the Constitution to curb that right.

A five-judge Constitution bench headed by Justice S A Nazeer was unanimous on the larger question with regard to putting additional curbs on freedom of speech and expression of high political functionaries.

The contentious constitutional issue had cropped up following the purported statement of then Uttar Pradesh minister Azam Khan with regard to the alleged gang-rape of a mother- daughter duo on a highway near Bulandshahr in July 2016. Khan had termed the ghastly offence a "political conspiracy".

On the key issue of whether the government can be held responsible and liable for the statements of an individual minister, the Constitution bench, by a 4:1 majority, ruled that the government cannot be held "vicariously" liable for the disparaging