The Supreme Court on Wednesday issued a notice to the Gujarat, Kerala, Nagaland, and Tamil Nadu governments, asking whether they have appointed nodal officers to prevent and act against hate crimes, in compliance with its 2018 judgment.
In its Tehseen Poonawala judgment in 2018, the court had condemned hate crimes. Holding that it was the “sacrosanct duty” of the state to protect the lives of its citizens, it issued guidelines for the States, and the police to prevent, control and deter mob violence and lynchings. It had also directed every district to appoint a nodal officer not below the rank of superintendent of police to take preventive action against hate crimes.
“Affidavit in this regard will be filed by the respective States within four weeks from today. Details and particulars of the nodal officers shall be stated,” a Bench headed by Justice Sanjiv Khanna ordered.
No individual cases
The court did not entertain pleas alleging individual cases of hate crimes, directing petitioners to approach their jurisdictional courts instead. One such plea was a contempt petition filed against Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) leader Udayanidhi Stalin for his remarks on Sanatana Dharma.
“What we want to do is put in place the infrastructure or administrative mechanism. If there is any breach or problem, then you will have to go to the respective High Courts. We cannot do pan-India approach over here. It will become impossible for us to handle,” Justice Khanna said.
In October 2022, the court had observed that it was “tragic what we have reduced religion to” in the 21st century, noting that a “climate of hate prevails in the country”. It then directed the police and other authorities to immediately and suo motu register cases against hate speech makers and offenders who commit acts of communal violence, without waiting for complaints to be filed.
