In a significant development, the Supreme Court on Friday extended the application of its October 2022 judgement (directing the Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, and Uttarakhand Police to take suo motu action against hate speech cases) to all States and Union Territories.
As a result, all states/UTs are now required to take suo motu action to file an FIR against hate speech without waiting for any formal complaint.
The initial directive, issued on October 21, 2022, applied only to the governments of the NCT of Delhi, Uttarakhand, and Uttar Pradesh.
The action should be made regardless of the speaker’s religion. The Court warned that any failure to follow the directives would be considered contempt of court.
A bench comprised of Justices KM Joseph and BV Nagarathna was hearing a slew of petitions seeking action in connection with various hate crimes around the country.
“Respondents shall ensure that immediately, as and when any speech or any action takes place which attracts offences such as Section 153A, 153B, 295A and 506 of IPC, etc, suo motu action be taken to register cases and proceed against the offenders in accordance with law,” the Bench stated in the order.
Respondents will issue directives to subordinates as soon as possible so that necessary action can be performed.
We further make it plain that such action must be taken regardless of the religion of the speaker, in order to preserve the secular character of Bharat as intended by the Preamble,” the bench stated.
The ruling was passed in response to an application filed by Advocate Nizam Pasha (on behalf of petitioner Shaheen Abdullah) seeking orders to stop hate speech.
Mr. Pasha proposed in his application for instruction that a nodal officer be constituted in each state to be accountable for actions against hate speeches. Mr. Sanjay Parikh, Senior Advocate for PUCL, stated that the organisation would like to file petitions to augment Mr. Pasha’s ideas.
On March 29, the Court sought the State of Maharashtra’s response to a contempt petition alleging that the State authorities neglected to take action against hate remarks uttered during rallies.
In response to the increase in hate speech cases, the bench commented with despair, “State is impotent, state is powerless; it does not act in time. Why do we have a state at all if it is silent?”
The judges also emphasised the importance of communal harmony and brotherhood on numerous occasions.
The case will be heard again on May 12, 2023.
