The Supreme Court on Monday, January 10, agreed to hear a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking action against those who made hate speeches during the recent ‘Dharma Sansad' held at Haridwar in Uttarakhand. A bench headed by Chief Justice NV Ramana took note of the submissions of senior advocate Kapil Sibal that no action has been taken against those who made the hate speeches despite the registration of FIR.
“I have moved this PIL in respect of what happened in Dharma Sansad in Haridwar on December 17 and 19. We are living in difficult times where slogan in country has changed from ‘Satyamev Jayate’,” Sibal said.
“Alright, we will take up the matter,” the CJI said.
A special investigation team is probing the recent Haridwar event where hate speeches were delivered against Muslims. Two separate FIRs have been lodged in connection with last month's event in which provocative speeches were made against Muslims, triggering outrage. Video footage from the event has surfaced on social media. No arrests have been made so far. Five people were named in the first FIR and 10 in the second case lodged over the hate speeches.
Held in Haridwar from December 17-20, the Dharma Sansad was organised by Yati Narasimhanand Giri of the Juna Akhada, who is already under police scanner for making hate speeches and inciting violence against Muslims.
At the event, several speakers allegedly made inflammatory and provocative speeches, calling for the killing of people from the minority community.
Two FIRs have been lodged against 15 people in the case, including Waseem Rizvi who changed his name to Jitendra Narayan Tyagi after converting to Hinduism recently and organiser of the Sansad Yati Narasimhanand, the head priest of Dasna temple in Ghaziabad.
A five-member Special Investigation Team has been constituted to look into the matter. "We have constituted an SIT. It will carry out a probe. If solid evidence against those involved is found appropriate action will be taken," Garhwal DIG KS Nagnyal had said.
Several Opposition leaders, including those from the Congress and the Trinamool Congress, have condemned what they said was a "hate speech conclave" and called for strict action against those involved.
Also, retired police officers, including former DGPs of Uttar Pradesh and Haryana, have written to Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami describing the Sansad as a blot on Uttarakhand's long tradition of peaceful coexistence of different religions.
Many Supreme Court lawyers had also written to the Chief Justice of India seeking his attention into the issue.
With PTI inputs