The Supreme Court on Friday directed all states and union territories to ensure that as and when any hate speech is made, they shall take suo moto action for registration of FIR even without any complaints.
A bench of Justices KM Joseph and BV Nagarathna made it clear that such action shall be taken irrespective of the religion of the persons who made the speech so that the secular character of Bharat as envisaged by the Preamble is preserved.
The bench said that any hesitation to take action on hate speech would be viewed as contempt of court.
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"Respondents shall ensure that immediately, as and when any speech or any action takes place which attracts offences such as Section 153A, 153B, 295A and 506 of IPC, etc, without any complaint being filed, suo motu action be taken to register cases and proceed against the offenders in accordance with the law," the bench stated in its order.
It further added, "We further make it clear that such action be taken irrespective of the religion of the maker of the speech so that the secular character of Bharat as envisaged by the Preamble is preserved."
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The apex court was hearing a batch of pleas seeking direction to curb hate speeches. It has now posted the cases for hearing on May 12. The bench now extended its October 21, 2022 order, which applied to the Delhi, Uttarakhand, and Uttar Pradesh governments, to all the States and Union Territories.
During the hearing, the bench made it clear that in its previous order, it did not direct that action should be taken against any particular community but action should be taken irrespective of the religion.
