A tweet by Supreme Court Advocate Nitin Meshram has sparked a debate on social media, with several users criticising his statements. Meshram commented on the Supreme Court’s decision to commute the death sentence of rape and murder convict Firoz. Firoz was sentenced to death in 2014 for raping and murdering a 4-year-old girl.
Adv Meshram stated in the tweet that he was the one who helped Firoz secure a stay on his death sentence in 2014. In the tweet, he cited the recent Supreme Court judgement and wrote, “I had obtained stay on death penalty in this matter in 2014. Happy that his sentence is commuted to life imprisonment. Live your life Firoz”
Quoting his tweet, Author and Social activist Shefali Vaidya wrote, “Yes. Live your life, so when you come out of jail, you can find more innocent 4-year-old girls to destroy! I am guessing @nitinmeshram_ is no father of a little girl!”
Adv Meshram then responded to Shefali Vaidya’s comment by writing, “Shefali this is my reply to your tweet on me: “Hindus (must) realize that they are the sick men of India, and that their sickness is causing danger to the health and happiness of other Indians.” – Babasaheb Dr Ambedkar – Annihilation of Caste. Courtesy @Profdilipmandal”
Meshram’s response to Vaidya’s concern regarding the 4-year-old victim who died at the hands of rapist Firoz, was an out of context Amebkar quote. Meshram appeared to be using that quote to justify his help to the child rapist in evading harsher punishment based on the culprit’s religion. Indirectly, Meshram insinuated that Hindus ‘deserve’ what happened to the 4-year-old girl.
Following this exchange of responses, several other social media users highlighted what Adv Meshram had previously remarked in a case involving the death of a juvenile girl in 2021. Meshram had posted comments on Twitter in 2021 demanding the death penalty for the accused in that case. In a tweet made on August 3, 2021, he stated, “Pandit must be hanged to death if found guilty. This is a rarest of rare cases which has badly shaken the conscience of the society….Culprits must be hanged to death.”
Concerning both of his remarks, Twitter user Anshul Saxena wrote, “…If both Pandit & Firoz are guilty, why not demand to hang both?”
Meet lawyer Nitin Meshram:
— Anshul Saxena (@AskAnshul) April 21, 2022
3/8/2021: Pandit must be hanged to death if found guilty in rape & murder case
21/4/2022: ‘Live your life Firoz’ as SC commuted his death sentence in 4 year old girl’s rape & murder case
If both Pandit & Firoz are guilty, why not demand to hang both? pic.twitter.com/iG5gyoCHR1
Another user Monidipa bose wrote, “Ppl like Nitin Meshram are the reason why our society is going all awry, with institutions like the SC sympathising more with rap!sts & j!Hadis instead of the victims! With zero sympathy for the dead 4 yr old girl who had her future cut short brutally, he’s wishing the rapist !”
Ppl like Nitin Meshram are the reason why our society is going all awry, with institutions like the SC sympathising more with rap!sts & j!Hadis instead of the victims!
— Monidipa Bose – Dey (মণিদীপা) (@monidipadey) April 21, 2022
With zero sympathy for the dead 4 yr old girl who had her future cut short brutally, he’s wishing the rapist ! pic.twitter.com/L3RA7EK6ZW
People on social media are slamming Adv Meshram for his comments about the court’s order. People are questioning why his comments are so skewed and one-sided.
Meshram, it is worth noting, sought the death penalty for the pandit accused of murdering a juvenile girl in 2021, yet he backed the commuting of Firoz’s death sentence, stating, “Live your life Firoz.”
His disparate words have sparked outrage on social media, with individuals pointing out how his remarks differ when it comes to Hindus and how they shift when it comes to Muslims.
Meshram also wrote an opinion in 2021 in which he questioned Former Chief Justice of India SA Bobde’s competency. Meshram argued in the article that Bobde was unsuitable for constitutional courts and that his judicial precedents were defective and denounced constitutional benchmarks.
OpIndia reached out to Adv Meshram and inquired about his position on the remarks he made on Twitter. When asked to comment on his tweets and the discussion around them, he stated, “It was my personal opinion, and under the constitution, I am allowed to express it. Debate and discourse are essential in a democracy, and if people are talking about something, they have the right to talk about it.”
“The tweet was simply a social communication on the order I obtained in 2014. An opinion may be abusive, but it is protected under the constitution as long as it is within the constitutional framework,” he further added.
