New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday, said religious conclave in Uttarakhandโs Roorkee should not devolve into a typical hate-fest to target Muslims. Court has also sent pointed questions to neighbouring Himachal Pradesh over a similar event earlier this month.
โIf the hate speech is not stopped, the [Uttarakhand] Chief Secretary will be held responsible. We will summon the Chief Secretary to the court,โ the judges said.
The judge asked the stateโs top bureaucrat to place on record that at the โDharam Sansadโ, no โuntoward statementโ will be made.
Ahead of the event scheduled for Wednesday they added, โFollow the Supreme Courtโs guideline regarding hate speech. Take all steps necessary to stop hate speech.โ
In a separate hearing, the Supreme Court asked the Himachal Pradesh government questions about an event earlier this month that featured anti-Muslim hate speeches and incitement for Hindus to resort to violence.
โThe government has to stop such activity. The state government will have to let us know whether any preventive measures were taken or not,โ the court said.
They asked the BJP administration why it did not act immediately against incendiary speakers.
Listing the case to be heard again on May 9 it said โThe government should file an affidavit by May 7 and let us know what steps were taken to prevent such incidents.โ
โThese events do not happen suddenly. They donโt happen overnight. These are announced in advance. Why didnโt you act right away? There are already guidelines of the Supreme Court,โ the judges added.
In the case of Uttarakhand, the justices noted the promise offered by the state government that no โuntoward statementโ will be made during the event, and that all procedures will be done in accordance with the courtโs rulings.
However, it pulled up the Uttarakhand government lawyer when he said: โThe community that [senior advocate Kapil] Sibal (appearing for the petitioner, who had asked for a ban on the event) is supporting, is also doing some things.โ
โWhat are these arguments? This is not the way to argue in court,โ Justice AM Khanwilkar told him.
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