Overview
- The Karnataka Hate Speech and Hate Crimes (Prevention) Bill, 2025 was introduced in the Assembly in Belagavi by Home Minister G. Parameshwara and is now under consideration, not yet enacted.
- The draft covers expressions made in public view across spoken, written, symbolic and electronic media, listing protected grounds such as religion, caste, gender, sexual orientation, language, disability, place of birth, residence, race and tribe.
- Penalties include mandatory minimum imprisonment of one to seven years for a first conviction and two to ten years for repeat offences, with fines up to ₹1 lakh, with offences designated cognisable, non-bailable and triable by a Judicial Magistrate First Class.
- The Bill authorises a designated state officer to direct intermediaries and service providers to block or remove ‘hate crime materials’ and permits preventive action by executive magistrates or police at the DSP rank and above.
- Organisations can be held criminally liable along with responsible officials unless they prove lack of knowledge or due diligence, while BJP legislators protested the tabling and civil society groups warned of free‑speech and overreach risks.