New Delhi:
The Supreme Court today issued a notice to the government of Uttarakhand asking for a response in a hate speech case openly calling for genocide at a “Dharma Sansad” in Haridwar.
The government of Uttarakhand must respond within ten days. The message has also been sent to the Center and Delhi police.
The Supreme Court allowed the petitioner to approach the local authorities for their request to stop the Dharam Sansad being held in Aligarh (UP) on January 23.
A bench headed by Chief Justice of India NV Ramana, and Judges Surya Kant and Hima Kohli heard the case.
The petition, filed by former High Court Justice Anjana Prakash and journalist Kurban Ali, flags hate speech against Muslims and calls for an independent, credible and fair investigation by a special investigative team.
“The country’s slogans have changed from Satyameva Jayate to Sashastramev Jayate,” senior lawyer Kapil Sibal told the highest court, adding that only FIRs have been filed but no arrests have been made.
The plea is that the inaction of the police shows that they go hand in hand with perpetrators of community hatred.
At the religious rally held on December 17-19, several religious leaders made outrageous speeches calling for the use of weapons against Muslims.
After much outcry, the Uttarakhand police first filed an FIR, naming only one person – Waseem Rizvi who converted and calls himself Jitendra Tyagi – and “unknown persons”. Later, four more names were added – Sagar Sidhu Maharaj and Yati Narasimhanand, Dharamdas and Pooja Shakun Pandey.
The conclave was hosted by Yati Narasimhanand, a religious leader who has been accused in the past of inciting violence with his inflammatory speeches.
In one of the controversial clips, Prabodhanand heard Giri say, “Like Myanmar, our police, our politicians, our military and every Hindu must take up arms and carry out a Safayi Abhiyan (ethnic cleansing). There is no other option left.”
Here are the Live Updates on Haridwar Hate Speech Case:
CJI: Looks like another bank is hearing similar cases. Judge Khanwilkar’s bench.
Kapil Sibal to submitters: No, they are not
Adv Indira Jaisingh: It was Tushar Gandhi’s plea previously covered by SC
Adv Shadan Farasat intervenes: Other cases on the other bank are about hate speech. But not specifically Dharam Sansad.
CJI: Now there are so many people who want to link their problems to this
Kapil Sibal to petitioners: No arrests are made. The atmosphere of the country is affected. The ethos of the Republic will be affected if these events are held consistently, especially in election-bound states.
Kapil Sibal to the Applicants: I do not want to read and sensationalize what was said there. We have sent you a document. There you can read the content.
CJI: We can’t do anything at this stage. We’ll send a message to the state government and then we’ll see.
Lawyer Indira Jaising intervenes: On a previous plea from Tushar Gandhi (great-grandson of Mahatma Gandhi), this court had issued injunctions on hate speech issues. We need preventive measures
Kapil Sibal to Petitioners: When you make the notification, ask them to act quickly as the organizers keep announcing these events and another Dharm Sansad will be held.
Judges are now discussing among themselves