'Dear DGP, act against hate speech as per SC guidelines'

Rachana Ramesh | NT

Bengaluru: Several citizens and civil society organisations from the city gathered at the Director General of Police (DGP) Praveen Sood’s office on Tuesday to submit a memorandum requesting action against the rising cases of hate speeches in Karnataka.

In the absence of the DGP, a delegation met with the Inspector General of Police (Public Grievances and HR), Debajyit Ray, who said that a suo motou FIR could not be registered on hate speeches, and claimed that senior officials did not consider it after receiving legal opinion and felt that they could only act on private complaints. However, this reportedly goes entirely against the directions of the Supreme Court. The apex court has taken a serious note of hate speech.

The court stated in Shaheen Abdullah versus Union of India and Ors on 21 October 2022 that “The Constitution of India envisages Bharat as a secular nation and fraternity, assuring the dignity of the individual and the unity and integrity of the country are guiding principles enshrined in the Preamble. There cannot be fraternity unless members of the community drawn from different religions or castes are able to live in harmony."

It also directed that state governments shall ensure immediately suo motu action to register cases, even if no complaint is forthcoming as and when any speech or any action takes place and attracts offences such as Sections 153A, 153B, 295A and 505 of the IPC among others, and also proceed against the offenders in accordance with law. This shows the serious nature of the issue and that it is very much within the powers of the police to register suo-motu FIRs.

However, not a single case of hate speech has been subjected to a suo-motu FIR, said sources. Also, the Supreme Court in Pravasi Bhalai Sangathan versus Union of India has approved Communal Harmony Guidelines. Under Clause 2.8 of the guidelines, activities of organisations with avowed goals that could undermine communal harmony should be kept under careful watch, with district police monitoring these organisations.

Clause 4c of the guidelines also states the following: Review of the training programmes for the police forces with a view to inculcating in them the attitudes of secularism and communal harmony, and conduct of special training/orientation programmes for the members of the State Police Force.

However, the data on whether these guidelines are being followed is not available in the public domain. In the memorandum (a copy of which is with News Trail), the most recent speech by Ram Sena chief Pramod Muthalik in Bagalkot was mentioned, among others, where he said, “We clearly know what is happening in Karnataka and I have a solution. If we lose one Hindu girl to 'love jihad', we must trap and lure 10 Muslim women in retaliation."

Vinay Sreenivasan, an advocate at the Alternative Law Forum (ALF) noted that when Home Minister Araga Jnanendra himself has clarified that there is no official definition for the term ‘love jihad’, narratives around the concept are being spread to inculcate hate. The advocate called for immediate action against hate speech by the police.