New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday asked the Uttarakhand government to file status on FIRs registered in connection with alleged hate speeches made in December last year during an event in Haridwar.
Counsel, representing the Uttarakhand government, urged a bench of Justices A.M. Khanwilkar and A.S. Oka to give time to file a counter-affidavit in the matter. “We have registered four FIRs and in three of them, charge sheets have already been filed,” he said, adding that a status report can be filed in the matter.
Citing the next event is scheduled on April 17 in Himachal Pradesh, senior advocate Kapil Sibal, representing the petitioners, submitted: “The problem is, the event (in Himachal Pradesh) is on Sunday. That’s the real problem. And see what is happening.”
He urged the top court to issue notice to the state government.
Citing the first order passed by a bench headed by Chief Justice N.V. Ramana, Sibal submitted the order had said that petitioners can intimate the authority about such events. The bench replied that the applicant is free to give intimation to authorities concerned in the Himachal Pradesh in view of the order.
The bench said: “Liberty to serve an advance copy of the application on the standing counsel for the state of Himachal Pradesh.” The top court added that the Uttarakhand government will file a status report before the next date of hearing, and scheduled the matter for further hearing on April 22.
On January 12, the Supreme Court had issued notice to the Uttarakhand government on a petition by journalist Qurban Ali and former Patna High Court judge Anjana Prakash, seeking action against those who made hate speeches against the Muslim community at Dharam Sansad in Haridwar and in the national capital.
The plea, filed through advocate Sumita Hazarika, said: “Hate speeches consisted of open calls for genocide of Muslims in order to achieve ethnic cleansing. It is pertinent to note that the said speeches are not mere hate speeches but amount to an open call for murder of an entire community. The said speeches thus, pose a grave threat not just to the unity and integrity of our country but also endanger the lives of millions of Muslim citizens.”
According to the plea, the hate speeches were made between December 17-19, last year, in two events organised in Haridwar, by the controversial Yati Narsinghanand, and in Delhi, by an organisation self-styled as Hindu Yuva Vahini with the apparent objective of declaring war against a significant section of the Indian citizenry.
The plea submitted that no effective steps have been taken by the police authorities including non-application of Sections 120B, 121A and 153B of the IPC, to the said hate speeches.
(IANS)
