India, Feb. 25 -- The Supreme Court has held that it is constitutionally impermissible for anyone - whether a State actor or a private individual, to vilify or denigrate any community on the basis of religion, caste, language or region through speeches, memes, cartoons or visual art.

The observations were made in Atul Mishra v. Union of India, a petition challenging the title of a Netflix film originally named "Ghooskhor Pandat". A Bench of Justice B.V. Nagarathna and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan closed the proceedings after the filmmakers agreed to change the title. However, in a separate opinion, Justice Bhuyan said it was necessary to restate constitutional principles relating to fraternity and free speech to avoid any misunderstanding.

Alth...