National Politics

“Take Suo-Motu Cognizance”: SC Orders Delhi, Uttarakhand, UP Police To Take Action Against Hate Speeches

Hate

The Apex Court on Friday, in an important order, asked the Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand Police to take action in cases of hate speech without looking at religion of the offenders, Bar and Bench reported.

The court also asked police to take suo-motu cognizance of hate speech incidents without waiting for complaint to be filed.

A bench comprising Justices KM Joseph and Hrishikesh Roy, observing that the “there cannot be fraternity unless different religious communities are available to live in harmony”, asked the three state police to file a report before the Court regarding the actions taken on the hate speech crimes which happened within their jurisdiction.

The top court was hearing petition regarding the hate speeches at various religious congregations in recent times, seeking urgent intervention to stop the “growing menace of targeting and terrorizing the Muslim Community in India”.

“The action should be taken regardless of the religion of the speaker. Any hesitation to act as per the directions would be viewed as contempt of court,” the court warned police. 

“We feel the court is charged with the duty to protect the fundamental rights and also protect and preserve the constitutional values in particular the rule of law and the secular democratic character of the nation”, the bench said in its order.

Earlier, representing petitioner Shaheen Abdullah, senior advocate Kapil Sibal told the bench that BJP leader Parvesh Verma indulged in hate speech by calling for economic boycott. “We have filed many complaints. This Court or administration never takes action except seeking status reports.These people are participating in events on daily basis,” Sibal said.

 

 

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International

As Prez Rajapaksa Flees, State Of Emergency Declared In Sri Lanka

Tejas Joshi
Emergency

As the country battles unprecedented economic and civil turmoil, the Sri Lankan Prime Minister’s office today said that an indefinite nationwide state of emergency has been imposed in the island nation. The move came just hours after President Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled the country. Reports said that Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe will takeover as caretaker President since Rajapaksa has fled.

Dinouk Colombage, spokesman for Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, told news agency AFP: “Since the president is out of the country, an emergency has been declared to deal with the situation in the country.”

To quell the protests that intensified as Rajapaksa flew the country, the country’s police said they were also imposing an indefinite curfew across the Western Province, which includes the capital Colombo.

After taking over President’s residence, thousands of protestors tried to enter Prime Minister’s office, leading to police fire tear gas to hold them back from overrunning the compound.

Talking to AFP, a senior police officer said: “There are ongoing protests outside the prime minister’s office in Colombo and we need the curfew to contain the situation.”

They were under orders to crack down against demonstrators disrupting the functioning of the state, he told AFP.

Earlier, tens of thousands of protestors stormed President Rajapaksa’s official residence, forcing him to first flee army base, and then to Maldives.

According to Sri Lankan officials, Rajapaksa had promised to resign on Wednesday.

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