SC issues notice to Uttarakhand govt on PIL seeking prosecution in Haridwar hate speech

|HT|

The Supreme Court on Wednesday issued notice to Uttarakhand government on a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking prosecution of those involved in making hate speeches at Haridwar Dharma Sansad. The event was organised in December last year. The bench, headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) NV Ramana, also allowed the petitioners, a former high court judge and a journalist, to approach local authorities with their plea to stop a similar event, which is scheduled to take place in Aligarh on January 23.

The court posted the matter for hearing after 10 days.

The petitioners have sought a direction for "an independent, credible and impartial investigation" by an special investigation team (SIT) into the incidents of hate speeches against a community.

The Supreme Court had agreed on Monday to hear the PIL after the matter was mentioned before the CJI by senior advocate Kapil Sibal. The lawyer pointed out that no arrests have been made in the case. One event was organised in Haridwar by Yati Narsinghanand and the other in Delhi by 'Hindu Yuva Vahini'.

Videos of the Dharma Sansad in Haridwar were widely posted on social media, in which the speakers were heard calling for the genocide of members of a community.

The Uttarakhand Police filed the FIR under various provisions of the Indian Penal Code against Sant Dharamdas Maharaj, Sadhvi Annapoorna alias Pooja Shakun Pandey, Wasim Rizvi aka Jitendra Tyagi, and some others associated with the Dharma Sansad. The police later added the names of Yati Narsinghanand and Sagar Sindhu Maharaj.

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