The Supreme Court seeks report from six states in relation to the alleged attacks against Christian priests and Christian institutions across the country.
The matter was heard by a three-judge bench CJI DY Chandrachud, PS Narasimha and JB Pardiwala.
The bench ordered Chief Secretaries of Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Odisha, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, and Uttar Pradesh to share the information regarding steps taken by their respective law enforcement agencies with respect to the violence alleged in the plea within a period of three weeks.
The PIL has been filed by Dr. Peter Machado, Archbishop of Bangalore Diocese, along with the National Solidarity Forum, the Evangelical Fellowship of India.
The petition has been filed in response to “sinister phenomena of violence” and “targeted hate speech” directed at the country’s Christian community by vigilante groups and members of right-wing organisations. It claims that such violence is on the rise as a result of the State’s failure to protect its own citizens.
The petition also claims that the Central and State Governments, as well as other State apparatuses, have failed to take immediate and necessary action against groups that have perpetrated widespread violence and hate speech against the Christian community, including attacks on places of worship and other institutions run by them.
The Union Government has filed a counter-affidavit claiming that the petitioners’ claim of “Christian persecution” in India is false and that they relied on biased and one-sided reports.
The Central Government further stated that the petitioners have projected certain cases arising out of personal disputes as communal attacks.
Previously, the court directed the Union Ministry of Home Affairs to obtain verification reports on the steps taken from eight states, namely Bihar, Haryana, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Odisha, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, and Uttar Pradesh.
The petition is listed for further hearing on 13 March 2023.
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