Read Time: 09 minutes
The interlocutory application has been filed in the Shaheen Abdulla Vs. UOI case, in which the top court had directed all the States and Union Territories across the country to take suo moto action against those indulging in hate speeches, regardless of there being any complaint
A plea has been filed in the Supreme Court seeking a direction to the police, for registering an FIR against Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin's son Udhayanidhi and former Union Minister A Raja for their "derogatory remarks" and call for "eradication of Sanatan Dharma".
The plea states that Udhaynidhi is an MLA and Minister in the Tamil Nadu Government and has taken oath to work as per the constitution of our country. It is pointed out that Stalin must respect all the religions but "he intentionally made a provocative and defamatory statement for the Sanatana Dharma with the intent to promote enmity between groups on the grounds of religion".
Advocate Vineet Jindal has thus filed an interlocutory application in the writ petition filed by Shaheen Abdullah in which the Supreme Court had April 28, 2023 has directed all States/UTs to register suo motu FIRs in offences such as Section 153A, 153B, 295A and 506 of IPC etc, without any complaint being filed. The court had also then clarified that the action would be taken in cases of hate speech, irrespective of the religion of the person who made the speech.
The application filed through advocate Raj Kishore Chaudhary also cited the SC's direction which had then stated, "We make it clear that any hesitation to act in accordance with this direction will be viewed as contempt of this Court and appropriate action will be taken against the erring officers".
The applicant stated that he is a follower of Sanatan Dharma and on August 02, 2023 he watched a video statement of Tamil Nadu Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin and its translation on social media and news reports.
While speaking at an event called 'Sanatana Abolition Conference', Udhayanidhi on August 2 said, “I congratulate the organisers for calling the conference as eradication of Santana Dharma instead of 'opposing Sanatana Dharma'."
"There are some things that we have to eradicate and we can’t merely oppose. Mosquitoes, dengue, corona, and malaria are things which we cannot oppose, we have to eradicate them. Sanatanam is also like this. Eradication and not opposing Sanatanam has to be our first task," the Minister had said.
The plea said Udhayanidhi is an MLA and Minister in the Tamil Nadu Government and has taken oath to work as per the Constitution of our Country and must respect all the regions.
"But he intentionally made a provocative and defamatory statement for the Sanatan Dharma with the intent to promote enmity between groups on the grounds of religion," it stated.
It said a complaint was made to Delhi police but the FIR was yet to be registered despite the SC's direction for suo motu registration of the case for offences such as Section 153A, 153B, 295A and 506 of IPC etc, without any complaint being filed.
The plea also referred to a statement made by Raja, a Rajya Sabha MP and former Cabinet Minister on September 07, 2023 in which he allegedly supplemented the derogatory remarks made against Sanatan Dharma.
Raja reportedly said, "Sanatana and Vishwakarma Yojana are not different, they are the same. Udhayanidhi Stalin was soft in comparing and claiming that it should be eradicated like malaria and dengue."But these diseases don't have a social stigma. To be honest, leprosy was seen as disgusting and so was HIV. So, we need to see this as a disease ridden with social plights like HIV and leprosy".
Recently, a group of former judges, retired bureaucrats and Army veterans have written a letter to Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud seeking suo motu contempt action against Tamil Nadu government over its failure to act upon the "hate speech" made by Udhayanidhi about the 'Sanatan Dharma'.
On September 5, former judges, government officials and war veterans have written to the Chief Justice of India, requesting him to take suu moto cognizance of the hate speech made by Tamil Nadu Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin on 'Sanatan Dharma', basis the order passed in the Shaheen Abdulla case. CJI Dhananjaya Y. Chandrachud has been told that Stalin Jr.'s comments could incite communal disharmony and sectarian violence.
Case Title: Shaheen Abdulla Vs. UOI
Please Login or Register
