Uttarakhand High Court To Hear Tomorrow Plea To Stop 'Mahapanchayat' Proposed In Purola Amid Communal Tensions

The Uttarakhand High Court on Wednesday agreed to hear tomorrow a petition seeking to stop the 'mahapanchayat' (conclave) proposed to be held by Hindutva groups in Purola in Uttar Kashi district in the state, which is facing high communal tensions.

Advocate Sharukh Alam, appearing for the petitioner 'Association for the Protection of Civil Rights', mentioned the matter before Chief Justice Vipin Sanghi at around 1 PM today, seeking urgent listing. Earlier today, Alam had mentioned the matter before a vacation bench of the Supreme Court. However, the Supreme Court refused to entertain the plea and asked the petitioner to approach the High Court.

When the High Court Chief Justice asked about the subject matter, Alam said, "It is a writ petition asking for directions in view of the continuing mandamus of the Supreme Court in relation to incidents in Uttar Kashi and Tehri Garwhal. This is in relation to a certain ultimatum that has been given to a particular community to leave and the calling of a mahapanchayat tomorrow on June 15 if that ultimatum is not fulfilled". Alam said that the petition is in the process of being filed and requested for a direction to the registry to ensure listing tomorrow. Accepting the request, Chief Justice said that the matter will be taken up tomorrow.

In furtherance of the liberty given by the Supreme Court to approach other authorities as per law, the petitioner has also sent representations to the Chief Secretary and the Director General of Police of the Uttarakhand State. The petitioner has referred to the order passed by the Supreme Court directing the State to take suo motu action against hate speeches. Reference is also made to the Supreme Court order which directed the State to prevent hate speeches as dharam sansad events.

The petitioner referred to a letter sent by an organisation to the District Magistrate New Tehri Garhwal District on June 5 seeking to implement an ultimatum given to a "particular community" to leave Jaunpur Valley.

"In an apparent build up to the “ultimatum”, a Mahapanchayat has also been announced for June 15th 2023 in Purola, where earlier posters had been put up, and certain shops marked with a cross, indicating that their occupants had to leave before 15th June. It is likely that further hateful and provocative speeches will be made targeting the “particular community”, since it is in continuation of the already criminal narrative in the public sphere", the petitioner said in the representation sent to the Chief Secretary and the DGP.

The petitioner has urged the police authorities to register an FIR invoking UAPA and IPC provisions against the signatories of the letter dated June 5 and also to prevent any form of dharam sansad and/or Mahapanchayat that may lead to communal violence, particularly in Tehri Garhwal Division.

Purola has been plunged into a communal frenzy over the alleged kidnapping of a 14-year-old girl by two men – a Muslim and a Hindu – on May 26, which has been termed a case of ‘love jihad’ by local residents. While both accused were arrested promptly, the incident provoked deep communal tension in the town, which has eventually spread to neighbouring areas in the state. Over the following days, certain outfits reportedly held protests in several areas and attacked the shops and houses of Muslims in Purola.

Not only this, notices in the name of one ‘Devbhumi Raksha Sangathan’ were pasted on the shutters of shops owned by Muslim traders, threatening them to vacate the premises before the Mahapanchayat on June 15 or face dire consequences. It has further been claimed that ‘Vishwa Hindu Parishad’ has also written a letter to the Tehri-Garhwal administration saying that if Muslims – euphemistically referred to as ‘the particular community’ – do not leave from certain belts of Uttarakhand, the group, along with Hindu Yuva Vahini and Tehri-Garhwal Traders’ Union will block the highway on June 20 in protest. Reports suggest that several Muslim families, fearing for their safety, have left the town following the hate campaign against them.