Senior Adv Kapil Sibal Seeks Urgent Hearing Of Plea In Supreme Court Against Hate Speech

Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal sought urgent listing of the Dharam Sansad Hate Speech matter by the Supreme Court bench comprising CJI UU Lalit and Justice Bela M Trivedi. The bench enquired if there had been any specific petitions filed in the matter and requested submission of details regarding the same. 

At the outset, Senior Advocate Sibal stated–

"Some immediate orders may be passed to protect people. It is difficult to fathom why this is happening. Speakers are members of political parties and Dharam Sansad. Everyday something is being said."

He added that actions against specific incidents were still pending.

CJI Lalit orally remarked–

"Give us details and we'll see."

In an earlier hearing on a contempt plea alleging blatant and disobedience by the DGP, Uttarakhand Police and DGP, Delhi Police to take action with respect to hate speeches made by prominent persons in Dharma Sansad in the State of Uttarakhand and an event organised by Hindu Yuva Vahini in NCT of Delhi, the Supreme Court had directed the Uttarakhand Government and the Government of NCT of Delhi to file affidavits explaining the factual position and the action taken by them.

The petition had submitted that immediately after the events took place the hate speeches were made publicly available, but still the Uttarakhand police took 4 days to register the FIR, that too against only one person, while there were at least seven others who had called for genocide of a minority community at the Dharma Sansad in Haridwar. Only after persistent public protests and social media outcry, names of Annapurna Maa, Dharamdas, Sagar Sidhu Maharaj and Yati Narsinghanand Giri were added to the FIR. It stated that another FIR was registered almost 2 weeks after the incident, on 02.01.2022, against Yati Narsinghanand Giri, Sindhu Sagar, Dharamdas, Parmananda, Sadhvi Annapurna, Anand Swaroop, Ashwini Upadhyay, Suresh Chahwan, Prabodhanand Giri and Jitendra Narayan Tyagibut but only under Sections 153A and 295A of the IPC, whereas the nature of the hate speech was grave enough to attract 121A  Sections 15 & 16 of the UAPA read with section 120B of the IPC along with Sections 153B, 295A, 298, 505 and 506 of IPC. At the time of filing of the contempt petition, around 06.01.2022, the Delhi Police was yet to take cognisance of the hate speeches made unapologetically at the event organised by the Hindu Yuva Vahini.