Political Will Needed To Stop Hate Speeches, Why Should Courts Intervene Every Time?
Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator.
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By Sunil Garodia
First publised on 2022-04-29 03:53:37
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Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator.
View all posts by this Author
The Supreme Court rightly pulled up states for ignoring the comprehensive guidelines issued by it in 2018 for preventive, remedial and punitive measures to be taken by them in cases of hate speech. The court clearly said that it is the duty of state governments to stop hate speech. In the instant case, a plea seeking the intervention of the court to direct states to stop hate speeches in the so-called dharam sansads (religious parliaments) being held with increasing frequency all over the country was being heard. The court was informed that another such meet was scheduled to be held in Roorkee in Uttarakhand and it was expected that the speakers will spew hate against some communities. The court asked the state government what it planned to do to stop the same.
The response of the state government was as expected. It said that no one could anticipate what the speakers will say and the state cannot justifiably take advance action. But the court was not convinced. It said that the guidelines laid out ways to prevent such speeches. It also said that if the speakers were the same persons who have been accused of making hat speeches earlier, the state has to take action.
On the other hand, in another report, the Haridwar district magistrate Vinay Shankar Pandey said that no permission has been sought by anyone to hold such a dharam sansad in Roorkee. If no permission has been sought or given, then it makes the task of the local administration easier. It just has to move against any such assembly and not allow it to happen. It is good that the prod from the Supreme Court has led the Uttarakhand government to impose Sec. 144 in Roorkee and arrest the organizers of the event. Some other state governments like Karnataka have decided to set up hate speech task forces.
For every such action, there has to be political will. Even though it is a known fact that all such assemblies need to get permission from the local administration, most of them are held without the necessary clearances. Even when the local administration gets to know about it, it does nothing to stop the meeting but police posting is made to prevent instant law and order problems. This is surprising and against the law. The local administration has to act to stop the meetings from being held as they are not permitted. The political will to stop these meetings and prevent hate speeches from being made there has to be there for the local administration to act.
