Section 298: Injuring or defiling place of worship with intent to insult religion of any class
Simple Translation: This is the crime of intentionally destroying, damaging, or “defiling” (making impure, e.g., by spitting, urinating, or using forbidden items) any place of worship (temple, mosque, church, etc.) or a sacred object. You are guilty if you do this either with the intent to insult a religion, or just knowing that people of that religion will likely see it as an insult.
Real-World Example: “A” intentionally breaks the idols (“object held sacred”) in a temple (“place of worship”). “A” may not personally hate the religion, but they know the community is “likely to consider such destruction… as an insult.” “A” is guilty.
Section 299: Deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings…
Simple Translation: This is the crime of “hate speech” against a religion. It requires a high legal standard: you must have a deliberate and malicious (knowingly evil) intention to outrage the religious feelings of a group by insulting their religion or beliefs. This can be done by words, pictures, or electronic means (like social media).
Real-World Example: A person, with the malicious intent of causing riots, publishes a pamphlet (“visible representation”) that contains deeply offensive and insulting caricatures of a community’s most sacred religious figures. This is a clear-cut case under this section.
Section 300: Disturbing religious assembly
Simple Translation: This is the crime of intentionally (voluntarily) disturbing a group of people who are lawfully gathered for religious worship or ceremonies.
Real-World Example: A group of people is lawfully gathered in a church for Sunday prayers. “A” runs into the church and starts shouting, playing loud music on a boombox, and setting off firecrackers, voluntarily causing a disturbance to the assembly. “A” is guilty.
Section 301: Trespassing on burial places, etc.
Simple Translation: This is the crime of intentionally disrespecting a place of worship, a burial ground, or a human corpse. You are guilty if you do any of the following with the intent to wound someone’s feelings or insult their religion (or knowing it’s likely you will):
Trespass (illegally enter) a place of worship.
Trespass on a “place of sepulchre” (a tomb or graveyard).
Trespass on a place used for funeral rites.
Offer any “indignity” (a disrespectful or shocking act) to a human corpse.
Disturb people who are gathered for a funeral.
Real-World Example 1 (Trespass): “A” intentionally enters a community’s burial ground and has a loud, drunken party, knowing this act will be seen as a deep insult to the community’s religion and will wound their feelings.
Real-World Example 2 (Indignity to Corpse): As a “prank,” “A” intentionally interferes with a human body at a morgue, knowing this act would be a grave indignity and would wound the feelings of the deceased’s family.
Real-World Example 3 (Disturbance): “A” intentionally drives past a funeral service and shouts insults, deliberately causing a “disturbance” to the mourners.
Section 302: Uttering words, etc., with deliberate intent to wound religious feelings of any person
Simple Translation: This is a personal religious insult (unlike Section 299, which is about insulting a group). You are guilty if you do something with the deliberate and specific intention of wounding the personal religious feelings of a person who can see or hear you. This includes:
Uttering a word.
Making a sound.
Making a gesture.
Placing an object in their sight.
Real-World Example: “A” knows his co-worker “B” is a devout follower of a religion that considers an animal sacred. With the deliberate intent to wound “B’s” religious feelings, “A” walks up to “B’s” desk and places a symbol of that animal being harmed right in “B’s” line of sight. “A” is guilty.
