Azam Khan's Conviction For Hate Speech Should Spur Action Against Others
Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator.
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By Sunil Garodia
First publised on 2022-10-28 07:22:49
About the Author
Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator.
View all posts by this Author
Samajwadi
Party leader Azam Khan, already in jail in another case, has been held guilty
for a 'hate' speech in 2019. He was held guilty for making an incendiary speech
that could have caused enmity between communities. The court sentenced him to
three years of imprisonment in the instant case.
While the court
must have had enough proof and reasons to pronounce the verdict and it is no
one's case that those who make such speeches be allowed to escape punishment,
the action cannot be one-sided or discriminatory. Many other speeches by several other BJP
leaders and religious figures in the recent past have been equally incendiary
and were much more likely not only to cause enmity between communities but also
start riots.
But in
these other recent cases, the administration has shown a strange reluctance to
prosecute those who make the speeches and has instead gone after organizers of
such events where these speeches were made. It has also not been proactive to
prevent the holding of such events, most of which are being held without
necessary permissions.
The Supreme
Court had recently observed that hate speech had the potential to cause
unlimited mischief and had also directed the administration not to wait for
complaints in such cases but take suo moto cognizance once the matter is known.
The videos of most such speeches are uploaded on social media and go viral. The
police have enough material on hand to take action against both who organize
such events and those who actually make hate speeches. Hence, the Azam Khan
conviction can be taken as a template to punish all others who are guilty of
poisoning minds through hate speeches.
