Hate speech cases against politicians to be heard by Supreme Court today

The Supreme Court on Wednesday will hear a petition seeking cases against political leaders who allegedly indulged in hate speech before last week’s violent clashes in North East Delhi. The petition was filed by a few of the victims of the violence, which has so far claimed 47 lives and left over 200 injured.

During the previous hearing on Monday, Chief Justice SA Bobde had said that the Supreme Court “wishes for peace but has limitations to its power” to control such violence. “We also read newspapers and the comments which are made,” Bobde had said. He added that media reports suggest that the courts are responsible for everything. However, advocate Colin Gonsalves, who is representing the petitioners, argued that the court can prevent the situation from deteriorating.

At the centre of the demand for hate speech cases are at least three instances involving Bharatiya Janata Party leaders. In the run-up to last month’s Delhi elections, Union minister Anurag Thakur had exhorted a crowd at a rally to shout “shoot the traitors” – an apparent reference to those protesting against the Citizenship Amendment Act.