Supreme Court to hear plea seeking probe into Haridwar hate speech case today

The matter will be heard by a three-judge bench of Chief Justice N V Ramana and justices Surya Kant and Hima Kohli.

The Supreme Court will hear a plea on Wednesday seeking immediate action against those who allegedly made hate speeches targeting the Muslim community at two separate events in Haridwar and Delhi. The matter will be heard by a three-judge bench of Chief Justice N V Ramana and justices Surya Kant and Hima Kohli.

The Supreme Court agreed to hear the plea after the matter was mentioned before CJI Ramana by senior advocate Kapil Sibal.

The petition has been filed by journalist Qurban Ali and former Patna High Court judge Anjana Prakash seeking direction for an "independent, credible and impartial investigation" by a Special Investigation Team (SIT). On Monday, the apex court agreed to hear the plea after the matter was mentioned before CJI Ramana by senior advocate Kapil Sibal.

"I have moved this PIL in respect of what happened in Dharam Sansad in Haridwar on December 17 and 19 (last year). We are living in difficult times where slogan in country has changed from 'Satyamev Jayate' to 'Shastramev Jayate'," Sibal said.

The senior advocate told CJI that FIR has been registered but no arrests have been made so far.

“No action will be taken without the court’s intervention,” he said.

The petition specifically mentions the hate speeches delivered between December 17-19 at Haridwar and Delhi organised by Yati Narsinghanand 'Hindu Yuva Vahini' respectively. In the video shared widely on social media, the speakers at the “Dharma Sansad” were heard calling for the genocide of members of a community.

The Uttarakhand Police initially filed the FIR under various provisions of the Indian Penal Code against Sant Dharamdas Maharaj, Sadhvi Annapoorna alias Pooja Shakun Pandey, Wasim Rizvi aka Jitendra Tyagi, and some others associated with the Dharma Sansad. The police later added the names of Yati Narsinghanand and Sagar Sindhu Maharaj.

(with agency inputs)