Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi, Aug 26: The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed a petition challenging the dropping of hate speech and other charges against UP CM Yogi Adityanath in relation to the 2007 Gorakhpur riots.
The Uttar Pradesh government’s decision to not authorise Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s prosecution in connection with the 2007 Gorakhpur riots was being challenged in court as part of a petition.
Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi, who was representing the CM during the proceedings before the Supreme Court, had earlier argued that nothing remained to be decided after the forensic and closure reports had been approved.
The supposed hate speeches by Adityanath in relation to the violence on a CD were later discovered to be bogus, he continued. The petitioner’s attorney, Fuzail Ayyubi, argued that in accordance with Supreme Court precedence, the Governor must be consulted over the sentence.
“What you are raising is an academic question. If there are no criminal proceedings then where is the question of sanction?” CJI Ramana had asked.
Adityanath gave a speech in 2007 while serving as a member of parliament for the Gorakhpur district, asking the audience to exact revenge for the murder of a Hindu youngster.
Ten people lost their lives during the ensuing rioting in Gorakhpur as buses, mosques, and residences were set on fire. Adityanath was detained following the speech on suspicion of interfering with the peace but was eventually freed.
Parvez Parwaz, the petitioner before the Supreme Court, had filed a complaint in 2008 charging Adityanath and other leaders with inciting violence.
The Central Forensic Science Laboratory received the video evidence on a CD in October 2014, but the State administration declined permission to use it in 2017 to bring charges against Adityanath and four other BJP leaders, claiming that it had been “tampered” with.
