The Supreme Court on Thursday agreed to hear a plea seeking to prohibit an alleged hate speech event by the Hindu Jan Akrosh Morcha scheduled to be held on February 5 in Mumbai.
A Bench of Justices KM Joseph, Aniruddha Bose and Hrishikesh Roy assured the hearing, but only after taking instructions from Chief Justice DY Chandrachud.
A lady lawyer persisted in an urgent hearing, pointing out that a similar rally was organised a few days ago attended by 10,000 people that gave a call to boycott Muslim communities economically and socially.
SC comes down hard on petitioner
The bench told her, "We are with you on this, but understand that the Supreme Court cannot be triggered every time there is a rally notified. You embarrass us again and again by getting an order. We have passed so many orders, yet nobody is taking action. The Supreme Court should not be asked to pass an order on an event-to-event basis.
“We have already passed an order which is clear enough. Just imagine rallies happening all across the country. Every time there will be an application before the Supreme Court. How can that be feasible,” the bench asked.
Hindu Jan Akrosh Morcha
The observation came after the lady lawyer mentioned the matter, saying the issue needs an urgent hearing against the rally to be organised in Mumbai on Sunday by the Hindu Jan Akrosh Morcha.
On her continuous persistence, the bench asked her to serve a copy of the application to the counsel for Maharashtra. “We will list it on Friday, subject to orders of the CJI. Only this case, not the entire batch,” it said.
Holding that the Constitution of India envisages a secular nation, the top court on October 21 last year directed the Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand governments to come down hard on hate speeches, promptly registering criminal cases against the culprits without waiting for a complaint to be filed.
The court had also warned that any delay on the part of the administration in taking action on this “very serious issue” would invite the court’s contempt.
