Dharam Sansad Hate Speech Case: The matter will be heard next on April 22.
The Supreme Court today directed the Uttarakhand government to file a status report on action taken over the Haridwar Dharam Sansad (religious assembly) hate speech case by April 22, when the matter will be next heard. The state government informed the court that four First Information Reports (FIR) have been filed in the case and charge sheets were filed in 3 of them.
The top court issued a notice to the Himachal Pradesh government over the next Dharam Sansad event which is scheduled to be held in the state on Sunday and sought a response. The court also allowed the petitioner to approach the area's concerned authorities for a request to cancel the event.
Senior advocate Kapil Sibal appeared for the petitioner and sought the cancellation of the event set to take place in Himachal Pradesh on Sunday.
"I cannot even read out the kind of things that are being said at such events. Cannot read them out in public," he said.
Mr Sibal told the bench that the first order passed on the plea by a bench headed by Chief Justice N V Ramana had said that petitioners can intimate the authority about such events. "Needless to observe that the applicant is free to give intimation to authorities concerned in the state of Himachal Pradesh in light of the order....," the bench said.
The court was hearing a petition by a former judge of Patna High Court, Justice Anjana Prakash, and journalist Qurban Ali who have also sought a direction for an "independent, credible and impartial investigation" by an SIT into the incidents of hate speeches against the Muslim community.
On January 12, the Uttarakhand government, Central government and Delhi Police had been ordered by the Supreme Court to reply to a petition on the "Dharma Sansad" or religious assembly hate speech.
The plea stated that between December 17 and 19, 2021, at two separate events organised in Delhi (by the Hindu Yuva Vahini) and Haridwar (by Yati Narsinghanand), hate speeches were made, consisting of open calls for genocide of Muslims in order to achieve ethnic cleansing.
At the Dharma Sansad in Uttarakhand's Haridwar, Hindu religious leaders made open calls for genocide and the use of weapons against Muslims. Days later, they were seen in a video laughing with a police officer, who they said will be "on our side".
The Uttarakhand Police had filed an FIR on December 23 last year under various provisions of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) against some persons including Sant Dharamdas Maharaj, Sadhvi Annapoorna alias Pooja Shakun Pandey, Yati Narsinghanand and Sagar Sindhu Maharaj.
A similar complaint was filed with the Delhi Police for the second event organised in the national capital.
The plea has alleged that no effective steps have been taken by the Uttarakhand and the Delhi Police.