New Delhi: There is a need to find a solution on the rise of hate speeches, the Supreme Court said on Friday and asked the stakeholders to make collective efforts, a few days after the violence in Nuh in Haryana. The remark from a bench of justices Sanjiv Khanna and SVN Bhatti came while hearing a petition related to protest rallies organised in the wake of Nuh violence.
The court asked the concerned parties why they do not all sit together and find a solution. The court asked the parties to adopt a constructive approach for finding solutions. The court also remarked that hate speech cannot be justified by any community. The court also took into account that parties are following the practice of coming to the Supreme Court and said that this is not right practice. The court also said that hate speech definition is complex.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed the authorities concerned to ensure that there is no hate speech against any community and there is no violence or damage to any properties in any protest rallies being organised in the national capital. The top court did not put any stay on rallies organised by the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) and passed the direction while hearing an intervening application filed in the matter. The protest rallies were being organised by VHP in the wake of Nuh violence. The top court had directed the authorities concerned to comply with the directions given by the apex court on October 21, 2022 over restriction on hate speech.
The court had asked the state and police authorities to ensure that there should not be any hate speech against any community or violence or damage to any property. The top court also directed to deploy additional police or para-military forces to maintain law and order. The top court had also directed that authorities should ensure the use of CCTV cameras or video recordings in all sensitive areas wherever required. The top court also stressed on preserving the video recordings.
Senior Advocate CU Singh had apprised the top court that 23 rallies are being organised. The top court had noted that authorities are aware of the situation and they should take action whenever required. The court said that law and order is a policing issue that should be taken care of. The application was filed by one Shaheen Abdulla. The application was filed through advocates Sumita Hazarika and Rashmi Singh. The applicant apprised the court that it has now come to the knowledge of the petitioner that in the aftermath of the unfortunate violence that broke out in Nuh and Gurgaon, Haryana that the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) is planning to conduct rallies in Delhi and Noida purportedly against the communal violence in Haryana.
The rallies planned on August 2 were in areas including Delhi-Haryana border, Noida in Uttar Pradesh; Manesar, Haryana and 23 localities in Delhi including Karol Bagh, Patel Nagar, Lajpat Nagar, Mayur Vihar, Mukherjee Nagar, Narela, Moti Nagar, Tilak Nagar, Nangloi, Ambedkar Nagar, Najafgarh etc. According to the application, the situation in Nuh and Gurgaon continues to be extremely tense and even the slightest provocation could result in serious loss of life and damage to property. Rallies that are likely to fan communal fires and incite people to resort to violence, ought not to be permitted.
The applicant submitted that such rallies that demonize communities and openly call for violence and killing of people are not limited in terms of their impact to just those areas that are presently dealing with communal tensions but will inevitably lead to communal disharmony and violence of an unfathomable scale across the country. The application submitted that considering the extremely precarious situation currently prevailing in the aforementioned areas a very legitimate apprehension of communal persecution has arisen that requires the urgent attention of the top court. The application also sought to issue appropriate directions for taking down of all such videos, posts, programmes, etc. in relation with the incidents that have taken place in Nuh and Gurgaon, Haryana that are spreading misinformation and inciting communal disharmony from all social media platforms.
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