SC pulls up police in Delhi hate speech case

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday directed the Delhi Police to have a “relook” at their affidavit claiming that no hate speech was delivered at the Hindu Yuva Vahini event in December. Giving two weeks to the police to file a better affidavit, the bench asked if the officer filing the affidavit understood the nuances and other aspects of taking such a stand before the highest court in the land. The court also asked the Union government to respond to a plea seeking a separate law on hate speech.

The court’s directions came in response to two among a clutch of petitions it was hearing on hate speech. The instruction to the police was in response to a petition jointly filed by a former Patna high court judge Anjana Prakash and journalist Qurban Ali seeking action against separate but similar events at Haridwar and Delhi, both held in December , where speeches targeting Muslims were made, and calls were given to make India a “Hindu nation”. The one seeking the Union government’s response was based on a PIL filed by Delhi BJP leader Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay, who wanted a separate law on hate speech and rumour mongering along the lines of a recommendation made by the Law Commission of India in 2017.

In response to the first petition cited above, the Delhi Police filed an affidavit last week denying that there was anything said against Muslims that could be classified as hate speech in the Delhi event. The affidavit was filed by DCP Esha Pandey, based on a report on the December 19 event prepared by the investigating officer, sub-inspector Abhishek Kumar of the Okhla police station.