The speakers at the Haridwar Dharam Sansad subsequently filed an FIR against Islam with the local police which was accepted with much laughter.
(Photo: Screenshot of the video.)
The Supreme Court has issued notice on the Public Interest Litigation (PIL) regarding the hate speech against Muslims at a recent 'Dharam Sansad' in Haridwar, Uttarakhand, and will hear the matter again after ten days.
The PIL, filed by journalist Qurban Ali and former Patna High Court judge, Justice Anjana Prakash, was briefly considered by a bench of Chief Justice NV Ramana and Justices Surya Kant and Hima Kohli.
Senior advocate Kapil Sibal requested the court to ask state and central authorities to respond as soon as possible so that more such 'Dharam Sansads' as announced by the organisers of the event, can be prevented.
The PIL requests an independent probe by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) into the hate speech at the Haridwar event as well as a separate event in Delhi, organised by Sudarshan News chief Suresh Chavhanke at the same time, where similar speeches were made.
While the Uttarakhand Police have registered an FIR regarding the incident, there have been no arrests made under it and the FIR does not invoke some important relevant provisions. Despite a complaint being filed against the Delhi event, no FIR has been registered by the Delhi Police so far.
There was some confusion with the judges being told that the matter should be tagged with another case before Justice AM Khanwilkar, but this was eventually clarified.
Sibal had asked the court to take some steps before 23 January, when the next 'Dharam Sansad' is supposed to take place in Aligarh. The bench said they were given liberty to approach the relevant authorities with their concerns about the event.
The hate-filled 'Dharam Sansad' ran from 17-19 December 2021 and was organised by Hindutva leader Yati Narsinghanand, notorious priest of the Dasna Devi temple in Ghaziabad and recently anointed 'Mahamandaleshwar' of the Juna Akhara.
The event saw explicit calls for genocide and ethnic cleansing from several right-wing Hindu leaders, recorded on video and shared widely.
Swami Prabodhanand Giri was heard saying:
Annapurna Maa, Mahamandleshwar of Niranjini Akhada and the general secretary of Hindu Mahasabha, had said:
Dharamdas Maharaj from Bihar had said:
Anand Swaroop Maharaj had said:
While an FIR was registered by the Uttarakhand Police over the incident, the petitioners have argued that no effective steps have been taken by the police against the organisers and speakers at the event.
Neither have any arrests been made, nor does the FIR include offences of conspiracy, waging war against the state, and offences prejudicial to national integration under the IPC.
Tushar Gandhi, great-grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, has filed an intervention application in the court noting the violation of guidelines by the apex court for appointment of nodal officers to prevent such speeches.
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