SC to hear plea today on alleged hate speeches made in Haridwar, Delhi

The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear a petition today seeking a direction to ensure investigation and action against those who allegedly made hate speeches during two events held recently in Haridwar and the national capitalThe plea is scheduled to come up for hearing before a bench comprising Chief Justice N V Ramana and justices Surya Kant and Hima KohliThe petition filed by journalist Qurban Ali and former Patna High Court judge and senior advocate Anjana Prakash has sought a direction for an independent credible and impartial investigation by an SIT into the incidents of hate speeches against the Muslim communityOn Monday a bench headed by the CJI had taken note of the submissions of senior advocate Kapil Sibal that no action has been taken against those who made the hate speeches despite registration of FIR by Uttarakhand PoliceI have moved this PIL in respect of what happened in Dharam Sansad in Haridwar on December 17 and 19 last year We are living in difficult times where slogan in country has changed from Satyamev Jayate to Shastramev Jayate Sibal had saidThe FIR has been filed but no arrests have been made the senior lawyer had said adding that no action would be possible without the intervention of this courtThe bench had said that it would take up the matter for hearingThe plea which specifically referred to the hate speeches delivered between the 17th amp 19th of December 2021 at Haridwar and Delhi has also sought compliance of apex courts guidelines to deal with such speechesOne event was organised in Haridwar by Yati Narsinghanand and the other in Delhi by Hindu Yuva Vahini allegedly calling for genocide of members of a community it saidThe Uttarakhand Police filed the FIR on December 23 under various provisions of the Indian Penal Code against some persons including Sant Dharamdas Maharaj Sadhvi Annapoorna alias Pooja Shakun Pandey Yati Narsinghanand and Sagar Sindhu MaharajA similar complaint was filed with the Delhi Police for the second event organised in the national capitalThe plea said that no effective steps have been taken by Uttarakhand and Delhi policeTill date no FIR has been lodged by the Delhi Police despite calls for ethnic cleansing at the event organised here it saidBesides this petition another plea has also been filed in the apex court by the Jamiat UlamaiHind to ban antiMuslim speeches and programmes like the Dharma SansadThe petition has demanded stern legal action against those who allegedly threatened to massacre Muslims and said it was not just a matter of religion but of the Constitution law unity and integrity of the countryHate speeches and statements against Muslims have suddenly intensified in the country in recent times the plea said