Nuh violence: Supreme Court directs petitioners to send evidence to nodal officers

Supreme Court on Friday directed petitioners to send collected evidence material to concerned nodal officers

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday directed petitioners to send collected evidence material to concerned nodal officers who are appointed as per the Tehseen Poonawalla judgment.

The direction was issued by the apex court while hearing the petitions related to the Nuh violence. A bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and SVN Bhatti listed the matter for further hearing on August 18.

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The court asked ASG to seek instructions from the Centre and inform it about the committee on the next date of the hearing to look into the cases of hate speech. The court also said that hate speech problems are not good and can’t be accepted.

The court also recommended that the nodal officer committee meet periodically to look at the progress of the FIR registered in this matter. The court noted that the committee can’t probe, but there should be some mechanism to inspect the investigation. The court also suggested a mechanism.

The Additional Solicitor General, representing the government, said that they will work out something and apprise the court about it on the next date of hearing.

Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for petitioners, informed the top court that the problem is not the registration of FIRs but the progress relating to the case, as nothing happened after the registration of the case.The court suggested that the committee maintain records properly so that they can check for laxity. The top court also remarked that there has been some harmony between the communities and said that all communities are responsible. The court also recommended that the police be sensitized.

Following a number of occurrences, including calls for a Muslim boycott and the closing of mosques in Gurugram, the Supreme Court received a new petition seeking to initiate appropriate action against the speakers who instigated communal disharmony.

The lawyer had mentioned some incidents that have happened in Gurugram whereby it was said that people who employ any member of a minority community in shops will all be called ‘gaddars’ (traitors). According to the application, after the Nuh violence, more than 27 rallies have been organized across various States where blatant hate speeches calling for the killing and social and economic boycott of Muslims have been openly delivered.

The application mentioned various rallies that have taken place between August 1 to August 7. The petition made reference to a number of transcripts and videos. It also claims that residents and store owners received warnings that their businesses would be boycotted if they continued to hire or keep any Muslim person after two days. The rallies were organized in various places in Punjab, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh.

The application submitted that such rallies that demonize communities and openly call for violence and the 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.

It further 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 sought to issue directions to the Commissioner of Police, Delhi, the Director General of Police, Uttarakhand, the Director General of Police, Uttar Pradesh, the Director General of Police, Haryana, and such other authorities to take adequate action so as to ensure that rallies in the nature of rallies where hate speeches are delivered are not allowed.

The plea sought to directly issue if the authorities concerned fail to stop the aforementioned protests, then they should explain what actions the Respondents and other authorities took. The application also requested prompt, appropriate action against Police officials who attended these demonstrations and disregarded measures to prevent the delivery of hate speech there.