Supreme Court refuses to entertain plea on Uttarakhand hate speech

NEW DELHI: With communal tension building up in Uttarakhand, a Muslim advocacy group, Association for Protection of Civil Rights, sought the Supreme Court's urgent intervention in directing the state to act against hate speech mongers, but a vacation bench asked the NGO to move the high court and appropriate authorities mandated to maintain law and order in the Himalayan state.
Advocate Sharukh Alam, appearing for the Delhi-based petitioner APCR which is headed by senior advocate Y H Muchhala, persisted with the vacation bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Ahsanuddin Amanullah that the Uttarkashi district administration is remaining a mute spectator to the hate speech and threat to leave the state being given against Muslims.
Alam said that recently the SC had passed an order directing the states and their police to suo motu register FIRs against anyone giving hate speeches and had warned that if the crimes do not get registered, appropriate contempt proceedings would be initiated against delinquent officers.
"The Uttarakhand police are not registering FIRs against the hate speech mongers and those who are threatening the Muslims to leave the state," she said. In response to the June 15 mahapanchayat at Purola, the Muslim religious leaders have called for a mahapanchayat at Dehradun on June 18 to protest targeting of their community members.
The bench said, "Law and order is a state issue. The district administration is bound to take action against any illegalities that threaten the peace. The high court is eminently suitable for addressing any instance of dereliction in duty by police. You move the HC. Why should we distrust the HC? You can show the SC order to the HC. It will consider and pass appropriate orders."
After the SC bench dismissed the plea seeking a stay on the mahapanchayat proposed by right-wing groups at Purola, the petitioner- Association for Protection of Civil Rights- sought permission to withdraw the plea and approached the Uttarakhand high court.