Delhi violence: SC agrees to hear on March 4 plea seeking lodging of FIRS

NEW DELHI: As communal violence in Delhi abated, Chief Justice of India S A Bobde on Monday remarked that the Supreme Court also wishes for peace but there are “limitations”, adding it cannot give “preventive reliefs”.

Justice Bobde made the remarks as it agreed to hear on March 4 a plea seeking lodging of FIRS against BJP leaders -- Anurag Thakur, Parvesh Verma, Kapil Mishra and Abhay Verma -- for their purported hate speeches which allegedly sparked violence in Delhi. At least 42 people have died and more than 200 were injured during the communal violence in northeast Delhi that broke out on February 23 in connection with the Citizenship (Amendment) Act.

The petition filed by 10 victims of the violence was mentioned for urgent listing before a bench headed by Justice Bobde which said it would be heard on Wednesday.

“We are not saying that people should die. That kind of pressure we are not equipped to handle. We cannot stop things from happening. We cannot give preventive reliefs. We feel a kind of pressure on us,” the CJI said when senior advocate Colin Gonsalves, appearing for the petitioners, sought urgent listing of the plea. The bench, also comprising Justices B R Gavai and Surya Kant, said the court can deal with a situation only after it takes place and it is not equipped to prevent it.

“The kind of pressure on us, you should know, we cannot handle that,” the bench said, adding, “We also read newspapers and the comments which are made. It is like as if the court is responsible”.

“We would wish peace but you know that there are limitations,” the CJI told Gonsalves, who said the court can prevent any further deterioration of the situation.

When the bench said the Delhi High Court is already seized of petitions on Delhi violence, Gonsalves said the high court has deferred the matter for almost six weeks and it was disappointing.