Hyderabad: As the Telangana govt moves ahead with its proposed legislation against hate speech and hate crimes, a select committee constituted by the assembly is expected to examine legal definitions, study similar laws in other states and recommend changes to key provisions, including punishments prescribed under the Bill. The panel is expected to submit its report during the upcoming monsoon session of the assembly.The state govt had introduced the Telangana Hate Speech and Hate Crimes (Prevention) Bill, 2026, in the assembly in March. However, following objections from legislators, including members of the ruling party, the House decided to refer the proposed legislation to a select committee for detailed scrutiny.Subsequently, assembly speaker Gaddam Prasad Kumar constituted the committee, with BC welfare minister Ponnam Prabhakar as its chairperson. The panel comprises 12 other members from various parties, including Balu Naik Nenavath, Danam Nagender, Kova Lakshmi, Koninty Manik Rao, Rama Rao Pawar, Ahmed Bin Abdullah Balala and K Sambasiva Rao, among others.According to the Bill, hate speech includes any expression published or circulated through spoken or written words, signs, visible representations, electronic communication or any other means in public view, with the intention of causing injury, disharmony, enmity, hatred or ill-will against any person, community, class or group.The Bill defines a hate crime as the communication of hate speech through publishing, circulating, promoting, propagating, inciting or abetting such speech to create disharmony, enmity, hatred or ill-will against an individual, group or organisation.The proposed legislation prescribes imprisonment of up to one year and a fine of Rs 50,000 for a first offence. Repeat offenders could face up to two years in prison and a fine of Rs 1 lakh.“The definitions are completely general in nature and it can be used against persons or leaders, by whoever is in power. Secondly, the punishments are very harsh and general without categorising them based on the nature of the speeches or crimes,” a senior govt official said.Official sources said the select committee is expected to examine these concerns in consultation with legal experts before finalising its recommendations.Meanwhile, the speaker has also constituted the assembly ethics committee, headed by MLA Revuri Prakash Reddy. Its members include BRS legislators Vemula Prashanth Reddy, T Padma Rao, Paidi Rakesh Reddy and Sambasiva Rao.Sources said the committee currently has only one pending case — that of Huzurabad MLA Padi Kaushik Reddy.The complaint stems from an incident during a heated assembly debate on alleged mining irregularities in March. While MLA Kadiyam Srihari was speaking about the previous BRS govt, Kaushik Reddy interrupted him by asking, “Which party are you in?” Srihari later alleged that Kaushik Reddy behaved inappropriately and made threatening gestures, including pretending to shoot a gun at him. Following the complaint, the speaker referred the matter to the ethics committee for further action.
