By SABRANGINDIA
Amidst the continuous barrage of hate speeches delivered by fringe elements across the country, the Citizens for Justice and Peace has sent three complaints against the hate speeches delivered in the states of West Bengal, Gujarat, and Bihar, in the months of April, May, and June, respectively. One complaint each from these states have been reported to the respective police authority and district magistrate to ensure necessary legal action on the speakers and organisers for violating the relevant hate speech provisions of the criminal law and vitiating the communal environment.
One complaint against Gautam Khattar was sent on July 12 to Commissioner, Bidhannagar City Police, Shri Mukesh, and Collector and District Magistrate, North 24 Parganas, Sharad Kumar Dwivedi, for the hate speech delivered by Khattar at the National Yuva Conclave-2024 event organised by Friends of Tribals Society at Acharya Mahapragya Mahashraman Education & Research Foundation (AMMERF), Newtown, Kolkata. The second complaint was sent on July 16 against Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader against the hate speech delivered in Vapi, Valsad, Gujarat. The said complaint was addressed to Superintendent of Police, Valsad, Dr. Karanraj Vaghela, and Collector and District Magistrate, Valsad, Aayush Sanjeev Oak. The third complaint was sent on July 16 against Antarrashtriya Hindu Parishad-Bajrang Dal speaker for promoting enmity between religious communities through incendiary speech delivered during an event organised in Purnia, Bihar. The complaint was delivered to Superintendent of Police, Purnia, Upendra Nath Verma, and Collector and District Magistrate, Purnia, Kundan Kumar.
All our complaints include attached link to the video of the concerned hate speech and English transcription of the same with proper timestamp to assist the police officials. In addition, we have included relevant applicable criminal laws related to hate speech (both Indian Penal Code and Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita provisions) and judicial precedents, particularly Shaheen Abdullah vs Union of Indian and Tehseen S. Poonawalla vs Union of India. Wherever applicable, we have also cited state-level police directive(s) issued by senior police official(s) concerning hate speech. Finally, we explain the police authorities that it is not only their moral duty but also legal obligation to act against any incident of hate speech, requiring even suo-moto registration of FIR in cases of hate speech. Importantly, we make officials understand the direct and in-direct implications of hate speeches, not on the lives of minorities, but on the society as a whole. Finally, we ask the authorities to provide us the details of the action taken against the complained speaker(s) and organisation(s), if any, and urge them to act on the same if no action has been already initiated.
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