Supreme Court Directs Uttarakhand To Ensure No Hate Speech Is Delivered At Roorkee 'Dharam Sansad'

The Supreme Court on Tuesday directed the Uttarakhand government to ensure that no hate speech is delivered at 'Dharam Sansad' or religious conclave, scheduled to be organised in the state's Roorkee city on Wednesday.

A bench of Justices AM Khanwilkar, Abhay Sreeniwas Oka and CT Ravikumar lashed at the state government for submitting to the SC that the administration could not control such events or anticipate the kind of speeches that would be delivered there.

Justice Khanwilkar told the Deputy Advocate General of the State of Uttarakhand, Jatinder Kumar Sethi, "You will have to take immediate action. Don't make us say something. There are other ways of preventive action. You know how to do it!," quoted Live Law.

He added that the state government must take preventive steps to ensure such incidents do not happen occasionally. The judges warned that the state chief secretary will be held responsible and summon him to the court if "any untoward situation" arises at the religious conclave on Wednesday.

In the following statement, Justice Khanwilkar told Jatinder Kumar Sethi, "But if the same accused person, then you have to prevent," as reported by the Scroll.

Furthermore, the state government must guarantee that such incidents do not occur regularly. The court ordered that the government produce an affidavit by May 7 detailing the efforts taken to prevent such instances and that the matter will be heard again on May 9.

In a separate hearing, the SC pressed the Himachal Pradesh government on an earlier rally this month that featured hate speeches against Muslims and demands for Hindus to resort to violence.

The court stated, "The government has to stop such activity. The state government will have to let us know whether any preventive measures were taken or not," reported NDTV.

Anti- Muslim Speech In Himachal Pradesh

Last December, a three-day festival was organised at Haridwar, Uttarakhand. The odd speech was delivered against Muslims, asking for genocide, before the police reported the case and arrested them.

At the start of the month, there was a "Religious Conclave" organised at Una, Himachal Pradesh. Priest Yati Narsinghanad, violating his bail, spoke at the event inviting Hindus to engage in violence against Muslims.

On February 7, 2022, Narshinghanand got bail and had been given a notice by the Himachal Pradesh Police Department, ordering him not to use provocative language against any faith or caste at the religious gathering.

The station house officer of the Amb police station in Una district had cautioned him that if his instructions were not followed, he would face legal action.

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