Courts not supposed to do moral policing: Supreme Court sets aside HC order against Tehseen Poonawalla

Tehseen Poonawalla. File
| Photo Credit: R.V. Moorthy

Observing that courts are not supposed to do moral policing, the Supreme Court on Tuesday (April 8, 2025) set aside an order of the Punjab and Haryana High Court imposing a fine of ₹10 lakh on political analyst Tehseen Poonawalla for mocking Jain monk Tarun Sagar.

A Bench of Justices Abhay S. Okay and Ujjal Bhuyan quashed the 2019 order of the High Court which had directed Mr. Poonawala and music composer and singer Vishal Dadlani to pay costs.

The Supreme Court said the High Court was swayed by the fact that the appellant criticised a priest belonging to a particular religion.

“What kind of order is this? There was no question of imposing cost. The court acquitted the appellants but imposed cost. Courts are not supposed to do moral policing,” the Bench said.

Mr. Poonawala had moved the Supreme Court against the High Court judgment.

The High Court had asked Mr. Dadlani and Mr. Poonawalla to pay ₹10 lakh each to get the FIR against them quashed. The High Court had also said that the fine was imposed to give a message so that no one mocked the heads of religious sects.