New Delhi, 28 April2023 . The Supreme Court on Friday directed the states and union territories to take immediate action in cases of hate speech. The court said that whenever someone gives a hate speech, the governments should register an FIR without any complaint. Delay in registering case in cases related to hate speech will be considered as contempt of court. The next hearing in the case will be on May 12.
The court said –
While taking action in such cases, one should not care about the religion of the person making the statement. In the same way the concept of a secular country can be kept alive. The court has given these instructions to the states and union territories while expanding the scope of its 2022 order. Earlier, the Supreme Court had given this order only to the UP, Delhi and Uttarakhand governments.
Court said- where have we reached in the name of religion, it is sad
The court said that hate speech is a serious crime, which can affect the secular fabric of the country. During the hearing of the case, the bench of Justices KM Joseph and BV Nagaratna said that where have we reached in the name of religion? It’s sad.
Judges are apolitical and are not concerned with Party A or Party B and have only the Constitution of India in their mind. Explain that the Supreme Court is hearing several petitions related to hate speech filed from different parts of the country.
Earlier, journalist Shaheen Abdullah had filed a petition in the court demanding registration of cases against those who made hate statements. On this, on October 21, 2022, the court had directed the governments of Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand to register cases without complaint in such cases. The court has today extended the scope of its order.
