Supreme Court stresses action on hate speeches, calls for accountability

The Supreme Court emphasized the necessity of taking action against all forms of hate speech and agreed to hear a set of petitions in February that seek to establish a mechanism to curb hate speeches. Dealing with applications highlighting instances of hate speeches, the bench, led by Justice Sanjiv Khanna, underscored the importance of having an administrative mechanism to address the issue rather than pan-India monitoring.

Timeline of judicial directions:

In 2018, the Supreme Court, in the Tehseen Poonawala case, issued detailed directions to states and Union Territories, instructing them to appoint nodal officers responsible for preventing hate crimes and registering offenses. Earlier in April, the Court directed police chiefs nationwide to initiate suo motu cases against hate speeches and warned of contempt action for non-compliance.

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A similar direction, previously applicable to Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Delhi, will now be extended to the entire country. The Union Ministry of Home Affairs convened a meeting in October to assess compliance with the 2018 judgment, revealing that 28 states and UTs have appointed nodal officers, while Gujarat, Kerala, Nagaland, and Tamil Nadu are yet to respond.

Individual cases and urgent requests:

Lawyers representing individual instances of hate crimes sought urgent orders to prevent the repetition of hate speeches. The bench cautioned against being flooded with cases and emphasized that direct petitions under Article 32 of the Constitution must be considered uniformly. Advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay, seeking a separate penal provision for hate crimes, urged the Court to refer the matter to the Law Commission, highlighting the lack of a defined term for hate speech in the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

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The Court has consistently sought to strengthen the mechanism outlined in the 2018 judgment, emphasizing the seriousness of hate speech offenses and their potential to become a societal threat. Various orders have been issued, including the maintenance of case diaries, CCTV installations, and police sensitization about reporting hate speeches to nodal officers.