The Supreme Court acknowledged the concerns raised by a PIL petitioner regarding the detrimental impact of hate speeches on the country’s atmosphere and agreed that measures should be taken to address this issue. Chief Justice of India U U Lalit made these comments during a hearing on the plea, which alleged that hate speeches were being used to target the minority community for political gain and incite violence.
While presiding over the case with Justice S Ravindra Bhat, CJI Lalit noted that the petition lacked specific details and only contained vague assertions. He emphasized the importance of providing concrete information about the crimes mentioned in the plea and questioned the lack of specifics. The petitioner, Harpreet Mansukhani, highlighted how hate speech has been exploited for personal gain, citing an example of a political party funding a controversial movie to incite anti-Muslim sentiments.
The Bench emphasized the need for initiating criminal proceedings in cases of hate speech based on individual circumstances. The petitioner expressed concerns about the urgency of addressing hate speech and requested the court’s intervention. The court requested the petitioner to provide specific instances in an affidavit for further consideration during the next hearing on November 1.
In a related matter, a different bench of Justices D Y Chandrachud and Hima Kohli directed the governments of and Uttarakhand to submit affidavits detailing the actions taken against hate speeches delivered during ‘Dharam Sansad’ events.
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