NEW DELHI: A Gurugram court has rejected the bail application of Ram Bhakt Gopal Sharma. He was arrested three days ago by Haryana Police for a hate speech. The court noted that such speeches are “more fatal than Covid.”
Judicial Magistrate of Gurugram, Mohammad Sageer said in the order: “Hate speech based on religion or caste has become a fashion nowadays and police seems helpless in dealing with such incidents. These kinds of activities are disturbing the secular fabric of our country and killing the spirit of the Constitution.
It creates tensions and sense of insecurity in the minds of common public which is unhealthy for the democratic society.” Sharma has moved a bail application in the high court. His speech against ‘Love Jihad’ and religious conversions at the mahapanchayat at Ramlilla ground in Pataudi village on July 4 had gone viral. He is the same person who had last year brandished a gun and opened fire at anti-CAA protesters outside Jamia Millia University in Delhi.
He moved a bail application after being arrested. But the court noted that this kind of speeches could lead to ‘destruction of our society.’ “The act of the accused, ie hate speech qua instigating abduction and killing of girls and persons of a particular religious community is itself a form of violence and such people and their inflammatory speeches are obstacle to the growth of a true democratic spirit. It leads to destruction of our society as people will fight based on religion,” stated the order.
The Gurugram court added that this is not the time to indulge in such activities or speeches. “When our country is facing the second deadly wave of Covid-19 and large populations are struggling to find two square meals, people who are trying to create disharmony and impart hatred are actually harming this country, more than the pandemic.
Trigger for more trouble
Hate speech lays the groundwork for broader attacks on the vulnerable that range from discrimination
to ostracism and in most extreme cases genocide, the court said.