Karnataka Assembly passes bill against hate speech

The Karnataka Legislative Assembly on Thursday passed the Hate Speech and Hate Crimes Prevention Bill, 2025, becoming the first state in the country to do so. The maximum punishment under the bill is up to seven years of imprisonment, with fines from ₹50,000 to ₹1 lakh. "You can't hate people...that's why we've brought a law," Deputy CM DK Shivakumar said.