NEW DELHI: Terming hate speech as a vicious circle, the Supreme Court on Wednesday reprimanded states for failing to curb it. “This is going on because the state is impotent, powerless, and doesn’t act in time. Why do we have the state at all if it is silent?” Justice K M Joseph wondered.
The judge said, “This hate thing is a vicious circle. The moment politics and religion are separated and politicians stop using religion in politics, hate speeches will go away... Some sort of mechanism needs to be developed by the state so that we can curb this kind of statements.”
Taking strong exception to fringe elements making hate speeches, Justice B V Nagarathna, during the hearing said, “The idea of fraternity was so much there earlier but now I’m sorry to say the cracks are coming. There must be restraint on every citizen.”
She suggested that citizens could take a pledge not to vilify other members of the society. “We had orators like Nehru and Vajpayee. People from rural areas used to come to listen to them. Now fringe elements from all sides are making these statements. Are we now going to take contempt of court action against all Indians?” she asked.
The hearing witnessed an exchange of sharp remarks between Solicitor General Tushar Mehta and Justice Joseph with Mehta asking the judge to not only single out hate speeches in Maharashtra but also look at instances in states like Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
He cited a DMK leader’s rant against Brahmins in Tamil Nadu and a hate speech by a child at a rally in Kerala, adding, “Let us not be selective.” The bench, however, said, “Let us not make this a drama. This is legal proceedings.”
The remarks were made by the bench while it was considering a contempt plea against the failure of states to register FIRs against perpetrators of hate speech.
The court rejected a request to dispose of a contempt plea against the Maharashtra government for allegedly failing to act on the court’s order on hate speeches at rallies.