Is Freedom of expression so important and essential for the functioning of a democracy that there should be no limits to it?

Freedom of expression is one of the basic rights ascribed to any member living in a democratic society 1 . The litmus test for efficient measurements of a society’s development is the extent to which the citizens of those nations are able to practice free expression. However, in an autocratic regime this right is conspicuously absent, where a free press, freedom of speech and other similar rights, which could in some way criticize the sitting government, are effectively blocked. Conversely, the idea around which a democratic nation revolves is enforcing the right to free speech and expression, defending it and ensuring its continued development 2 . The importance of freedom of speech is not limited just to democracies; it is also a right that is essential to every human being if they are to be free to form their own opinions and discuss and propagate these opinions without coercion. However, there are boundaries to freedom of expression that even democratic countries impose. The