On Friday, the Supreme Court rejected a petition seeking a ban on the proposed ‘Hindu Jan Akrosh Sabha’ in Mumbai on Monday, February 5. A petitioner named Shaheen Abdullah had approached the court seeking to ban the rally by Sakal Hindu Samaj, alleging that anti-Muslim hate speeches were made during the ‘Hindu Jan Aakrosh Morcha‘ in Mumbai on January 29.
A Supreme Court bench comprising Justices KM Joseph and JB Pardiwala refused to ban the rally, accepting the undertaking made by the State of Maharashtra that if approval is granted for Sakai Hindu Samaj for organizing its planned meeting on February 5, it will be subject to the condition that “nobody will make any hate speech and act in defiance of law or disturb the public order”. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta made this assurance before the bench on behalf of the Maharashtra government.
However, the Supreme Court ordered he videography of the event.
Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for the petitioner, argued that the police should use Section 151 of the Code of Criminal Procedure which provides the police the authority to arrest people to prevent cognizable offences against the organizers in light of the previous meeting’s occurrences. SG Mehta objected to the petitioner’s claim.
“We also direct that the officers, in case permission is granted and in case the occasion arises for invoking power under Section 151, it shall be the duty of the officers concerned to invoke the mandate of Section 151,” the Court said in its order.
Accepting Sibal’s insistence that the meeting be videotaped and a report submitted to the Court, the bench issued a directive to the area’s police inspector to that effect. The video’s contents must be made available to the Court. The bench further asked the Solicitor General to seek directions from the State regarding the petitioner’s accusations concerning the organization’s meeting on January 29.
During the hearing, the Solicitor General resolutely opposed the petition by noting that the petitioner was selectively picking up causes while he is professing to be a public-spirited person. Mehta also questioned why a petitioner from Kerala was worried about a prospective event in Maharashtra.
“Now selective cases are being filed here. Can this august forum be abused like this?”, Mehta asked. “Now individuals are selectively choosing and coming to this court, saying ban this event in Uttarakhand, ban that event in Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra. Can this Court be converted into an authority which grants permissions for meetings?”, he asked.
Kapil Sibal alleged that severe remarks were made by attendees at the meeting last Sunday, including an MP from the ruling party, and that these elements should be examined before allowing the next gathering. “The conduct of last Sunday must be considered before permission is granted”, Sibal added. During the prior conference, the petitioner claims, appeals for a social and economic boycott of Muslims were raised.
According to the Solicitor General, the authorities would be unable to examine the intended speeches. “The petitioners are seeking not only pre-speech censorship but also pre-speech arrest”, SG said of Sibal’s reliance on Section 151.
If directives to use Section 151 CrPC are issued, the Court will pre-judge that hate speech will occur, Tushar Mehta said. Regarding the directive that police should capture video of the event, the SG did not disagree, but added “preferably the public-spirited individuals should record, who come selectively and misuse this Court’s authority”.
Notably around 30 ‘Hindu Jan Aakrosh Morcha’ rallies have been organised across Maharashtra till date. Thousands of Hindus gather at such rallies and demand the implementation of stringent laws against forceful religious conversion. Such rallies have been organised in over 20 districts, including Mumbai, Parbhani, Nanded, Ahmednagar, Kolhapur, Gadchiroli, Satara, Karad, Sangli, Solapur, Pune, Dhule, Jalgaon, Nagpur, Amravati, Hingoli, Buldhana, Kolhapur and Jalna.
The Morcha in Mumbai on Sunday saw the peaceful participation of 1 lakh people, which started from Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Park in Dadar and ended at Prabhadevi’s Kamgar Maidan. Hindu organisations, Utsav Mandals and NGOs working for the welfare of citizens and Hindus participated in the march. Apart from leaders from RSS, Bajrang Dal and Vishwa Hindu Parishad, several leaders and legislators of BJP and Shiv Sena (Shinde faction) had also attended the event.
