Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi, Feb 3: The Supreme Court on Friday instructed the Maharashtra government to make sure that no hate speeches are delivered if the Hindu Jan Akrosh Morcha is permitted in Mumbai on February 5.
A bench comprising of Justice KM Joseph and Justice JB Pardiwala was informed by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who presented the case on behalf of the Maharashtra government, that the state will take full responsibility that no hate speech against any community is delivered if the event is permitted to be held.
Notably, the Supreme Court was hearing an appeal filed by Shaheen Abdullah who was not present in Mumbai. Appearing for the petitioner, senior advocate Kapil Sibal said police should invoke section 151 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), which empowers them to make arrests to prevent a cognisable offence.
“We also direct that in case permission is granted and in case the occasion arises for invoking power under section 151 of CrPC, it shall be the duty of the police officers concerned to invoke the provision,” the court stated.
Shaheen Abdullah had asked for the court’s intrusion to make certain that incidents such as one that took place at a January 29 meeting of the Hindu Jan Akrosh Morcha, where hate speeches were allegedly delivered against a particular community, are not repeated.
The bench, in response, asked police to video graph the event and a file report to it. The court also asked Mehta to seek instructions about the January 29 event of the Hindu Jan Akrosh Morcha.
During the hearing, Mehta opposed the plea and accused the petitioner of selectively taking up causes. He said the petitioner is from Kerala but is concerned about a proposed event in Maharashtra. He also questioned the demand to stop the event, saying that it would amount to pre-censorship.
Sibal confronted him by stating that at the January 29 event, grave statements were made by the participants, including a Member of Parliament from the ruling party, and all this needs to be considered before granting permission for the next event.
Holding that the Constitution contemplates a secular country, the zenith court had, on October 21 last year, directed the Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand governments to come down hard on hate speeches by promptly registering criminal cases against the accused, without waiting for a complaint.
The Court had also warned that any setback on the part of the administration in taking action on this very serious issue would invite the court’s contempt.
