Supreme Court seeks status reports from all states across India on the implementation of apex court guidelines for action against hate speeches and hate crimes

Rizvan Raza

New Delhi. The Supreme Court has asked for status reports from all states in India regarding the implementation of apex court guidelines for addressing hate speeches and hate crimes. The order was issued during the hearing of a hate speech case filed by senior journalist Qurban Ali, known as Qurban Ali vs. Union of India, along with several other petitions related to recent incidents of hate speeches and hate crimes, including one in Nuh, Haryana.

The apex court had previously issued an order in the Tahseen Poonawala judgment of 2018, outlining guidelines to counter hate speeches and incidents of mob lynching. These guidelines required states to appoint nodal officers at the district level, responsible for taking action against perpetrators of hate crimes. Additionally, the state governments were directed to respond swiftly to hate crimes.

Today, the apex court instructed all states to submit affidavits to the Supreme Court, detailing their compliance with the 2018 Tahseen Poonawala guidelines. The deadline for filing these affidavits is three weeks. 

Furthermore, Additional Solicitor General K M Natrajan has been tasked with creating a chart summarizing the status of all states and submitting it to the court.

 A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) was filed by journalist Qurban Ali, along with a former Judge of the Patna High Court and Supreme Court Senior Advocate Anjana Prakash, on January 10, 2022. The PIL sought the court's intervention in cases of hate speeches delivered in December 2021. These speeches were made in Haridwar by Yati Narsinghanand during a 'Dharam Sansad' event, and another in Delhi by the Hindu Yuva Vahini. 

The PIL calls for criminal action against the Haridwar 'Dharam Sansad' conclave where hate speeches and genocidal calls were directed towards Muslims. Additionally, the PIL seeks an independent and impartial investigation into incidents of hate speech against the Muslim community. The PIL also urges the issuance of directives to police authorities to adhere to the guidelines established by the court in the Tehseen Poonawalla v. Union of India (2018) 9 SCC 501 case.