Taking U-turn, Delhi Police registers FIR in Dharam Sansad hate speech case
India Today
Dharam Sansad hate speech case: In the latest affidavit filed in the Supreme Court, the Delhi Police has taken a U-turn in the Dharam Sansad hate speech case. It has now said that an FIR has been registered in the hate speech case.
In a complete U-turn, the Delhi Police, after analyzing videos and links on social media on hate speech at a ‘Dharam Sansad’ (religious congregation) held in the capital city last year, informed the Supreme Court that it has now registered an FIR for promoting enmity between groups.
Earlier, the Delhi police, in its affidavit, had stated “no specific words against any community were uttered” during the event organised by Hindu Yuva Vahini. However, the top court had expressed displeasure over the affidavit filed by the Delhi Police and had given it two weeks to seek instructions and file a "better affidavit" by May 4.
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Elaborating on its action, the fresh affidavit says that all the URLs mentioned in the complaint and other material available in the public domain have been analysed. A video has also been found on YouTube.
“After further minute verification of the material, an FIR was registered on May 4 at Okhla Industrial Area police station, South East (Delhi) district, for offences committed under sections 153A, 295A, 298, and 34 of Indian Penal Code,” the affidavit stated.
The top court was hearing a petition filed by journalist Qurban Ali and former Patna High Court judge and senior advocate Anjana Prakash. They sought directions for an "independent, credible and impartial investigation" by a special investigation team into incidents of hate speeches against a particular community.
The plea, which specifically referred to the “hate speeches” delivered between “December 17 and 19, 2021, in Haridwar and Delhi, also sought compliance with the apex court’s guidelines for dealing with such speeches.