Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind seeks ban on ‘Anti-Muslim’ programs like ‘Dharma Sansad’; petition filed in SC

 

New Delhi: Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind president Maulana Arshad Madani filed a petition in the Supreme Court, seeking a ban on anti-Muslim speeches and programs like ‘Dharma Sansad’ held in Haridwar and Delhi.

 

‘Hate speeches against Muslims have suddenly intensified in the country in recent times. Even the recent programmes held in Haridwar and Delhi have not only caused open provocations but have also deliberately conspired to provoke the majority to massacre Muslims for the establishment of ‘Hindu Rashtra’. Unfortunately, no legal action has been taken in these two cases so far’, the petition said.

 

Reacting to the whole matter, Maulana Arshad Madani said that the state and central law enforcement agencies have not fulfilled their duties, which has created a very depressing situation in the whole country. The silence of the central and state governments on the controversial speeches in the Dharma Sansad and elsewhere has added to the gravity of the situation, the Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind president said. ‘The silence of the government and the political people indicate that they are complicit in the crime and that the extremists have political backing, which is probably why the police are afraid to arrest them even after the FIR’, he added.

 

The plea suggested that a nodal officer should be appointed in each district to identify any program that contains hate speech and to take immediate legal action against program organizers and provocateurs. It also demanded that the Supreme Court to direct the Director General of Police, Law and Order and other officers of all the states to file a case within six hours of receiving a complaint of hate speeches and ensure the arrest of the accused.

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The plea requested that a charge sheet against the accused should be filed in the court on time, adding that the police should cooperate with the judiciary for speedy hearing of the case. It also sought to set up fast track courts for expeditious hearing of such cases. The petitioner said that guidelines should be prepared for the denial of bail to persons who ‘constantly make statements which not only disrupt law and order in the country but also conspire to incite the majority against a particular section’.