HC seeks affidavit from state on steps it takes against hate speech
Swati Deshpande / TNN / Updated: Feb 11, 2024 https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/hc-seeks-affidavit-from-state-on-steps-it-takes-against-hate-speech/articleshow/107592900.cms
One Shakir Tamboli had filed a plea seeking that the HC direct state govt "to take immediate action" on two FIRs and "prosecute and arrest Pawaskar, and if required transfer the probe to a court-monitored special investigation team".
On Friday, senior counsel Mihir Desai and advocate Lara Jesani, for Tamboli, submitted that police had taken no immediate steps to arrest Pawaskar despite two incidents of alleged hate speeches by him in Sangli's Vita and Islampur too.
Bombay HC has questioned state government on the adequacy of action taken on a plea seeking the arrest of BJP leader Vikram Pawaskar for his alleged role in an attack on a mosque in Satara last September. On Friday, senior counsel Mihir Desai and advocate Lara Jesani, for Shakir Tamboli, had submitted before the court that Pawaskar was also involved in two incidents of hate speeches on Jan 24 and June 2 last year in Sangli district, but no immediate steps had been taken to arrest him.
Police had done videography and registered an FIR. Advocate Abhinav Chandrachud, for Pawaskar, sought to intervene, saying the plea was making demands that affect his client’s rights and that he was not made a party to the petition.
Since no written application for intervention was made, the HC did not consider the plea at this stage. The court asked the state several questions on its inaction regarding the two FIRs in Sangli. The government, through public prosecutor Hiten Venegaonkar, submitted one affidavit regarding the Satara case and sought time to file another on the Sangli cases and said police were following the necessary process in taking action.
The court will hear the matter next on March 5. Jesani had submitted last month too that the case on the Jan 24 incident was registered only on May 11, 2023, after several representations were made to police. She argued that police flouted guidelines mentioned in a Jan 13, 2023, Supreme Court order on steps to be taken in cases of hate speech.
In the Jan 19 order, the HC recorded Jesani’s submission which, on Aug 21, 2023, said, “One mosque was vandalised and people were lynched and one person died” and several others were injured. “According to the counsel for the petitioner, one Vikram Pawaskar had incited/ instigated Sangram Mane and others to vandalise the mosque and to fuel communal violence.
She submits that the police have arrested only Sangram Mane, in whose house the alleged conspiracy took place. However, they have not taken any steps vis–a–vis Pawaskar,” the HC order read. On Jan 19, Venegaonkar had stated before the HC that he would “speak to the superior authorities, and if required, appropriate steps would be taken to protect such persons including the petitioner.”