On March 21, a writ petition was filed in the Bombay High Court to seek action against three Bharatiya Janata Party leaders for delivering hate speeches and inciting violence during January in Naya Nagar, Mira Road area of Thane, Maharashtra. Through the plea moved, the petitioners have sought for filing of FIRs against BJP MLAs Nitesh Rane (Kankavali Vishan Sabha constituency, Maharashtra), Geeta Jain (Mira Bhayandar constituency, Maharashtra) and T. Raja Singh (Goshamahal Assembly constituency, Telangana).
The five petitioners who have moved the said plea are residents of Mumbai, including two who were themselves victims of the violence that had taken place in Mira Road on January 22. (Full details can be read here.)
The petition has emphasised upon filing of FIR against the aforementioned three for allegedly delivering hate speeches by providing in the petition that “if action is not taken against individual like MLA Nitish Rane, MLA Geeta Jain, and Legislator T. Raja for spreading hate speech and inciting violence, the same may embolden them as well as other political leaders to resort to hate speech and incitement with the sole aim of polarizing the citizens for votes. It is submitted that the same may not only result in widespread violence, but shall also hamper free and fair elections, which are part of the basic structure of the Constitution of India”.
The main contention raised by the petitioners through the said writ petition is that the state police had an obligation to file the suo-moto FIRs against those making hate speeches, as had been necessitated by the Supreme Court for India in its October 2022 and January 13 order. In the said orders. Notably, the said orders had directed all State and Union Territories to take suo-moto action against hate speeches that are in contravention to the secular character of the country. The bench had directed the police officer to invoke their powers and file cases against those hate speakers without giving any regards to their religion (the details of the said order can be read here).
The petition states, “The said orders further state that such action is to be taken irrespective of the religion of the maker of the speech or the person who commits such act, so that the secular character of India is preserved and protected”.
In the petition, it has been highlighted by the petitioners that even after making multiple attempts to get the authorities to take action against the accused for hate speech, no action was taken by the authorities. It is pertinent to provide here that on February 3, over a dozen residents of Mira Road had submitted a written complaint to the senior PI of the Naya Nagar Police Station, Vilas Supe in Mira Road demanding registration of an FIR, thorough and fair investigation and prompt legal action against MLAs Geeta Jain and Nitesh Rane. The residents had sought action by the police by alleging that both the MLAs were to be held responsible for unnecessarily stoking communal fires over the Ram Temple event at Ayodhya on January 2.
Action against multiple hate speeches:
The petitioners have sought directions to the police to register FIRs against MLAs Nitish Rane, Geeta Jain, and T. Raja under sections 153, 153A, 153B, 295A, 504, and 505 of the IPC for allegedly having delivered hate speeches in Mira Road, Govandi, and Ghatkopar on various dates.
Hate speech 1: The petitioners have demanded for the High Court to direct the police to register FIRs against MLA Nitish Rane for delivering multiple hate speeches.
It is essential to highlight here that a total of three hate speeches were highlighted by the petitioners in the writ petition. The first hate speech against which action was sought had been delivered by MLA Nitish Rane and MLA Geeta Jain at Mira Road on January 23, 2024. On January 22, motorcycles adorned with saffron flags converged upon Naya Nagar, Mira Road, with the intent to incite fear and inflict harm upon local residents. Despite efforts by law enforcement to contain the situation, instances of vandalism and violence persisted, as evidenced by reported vehicular damage and other acts of aggression. The dissemination of hate speech and incendiary rhetoric by elected representatives, notably MLA Geeta Jain, further exacerbated tensions and contributed to the breakdown of law and order.
Furthermore, on January 23, false narratives perpetuated by MLA Geeta Bharat Jain regarding barricades purportedly erected by Muslims and discriminatory practices against Hindus only served to inflame communal tensions. Her misleading remarks and baseless assertions during interviews with media outlets, wherein she falsely alleged that Muslims were demanding “10-15 minutes (freehand),” only added fuel to the fire. Moreover, her statement claiming, “We are greater in numbers, if they need 10-15 minutes, we only need 5 minutes which will be good enough for them,” lacks any substantiation and further aggravates the situation.
Following her hate speech, on the next day, January 24, mobs on bikes with saffron flags went on a spree and vandalised shops of Muslim establishments. She demanded that the barricades, which were put up by the police administration to ensure law and order, be removed.
Notably, Rane had made incendiary posts on ‘X’ (formerly Twitter), by making the statement “chun-chun ke marenge”.
The petitions claims that multiple major and minor clashes broke out after their speeches, which makes it crucial to take action against these two for incitement through hate speech.
Hate speech 2: In the petition, two other speeches delivered by Rane at Govandi on February 10 and March 10 had been highlighted. On February 10, Rane was seen participating in Govandi’s Shivaji Nagar at Hindutva rally which was marked with reports of aggressive anti-Muslim slogans such as “Band karo, band karo, Love-jihad band karo,” and “Tu Durga ban, tu kali ban, kabhi na burqe wali ban.”
Addressing the media, Nitesh Rane had delivered an incendiary statement and promised a similar result to what happened in Mira Road for the people of Shivaji Nagar. He asserted, “Shivaji Nagar will also have the bulldozer. The Hindu here is also not safe. All of our Mankur-Shivajinagar area is becoming a mini-Bangladesh. Today our Hindu samaj stepped on the streets. Today here, a huge number of ‘illegal’ Masjids and madarsa are created by land jihad, these should be removed. Otherwise, we will do whatever we can – with the government. What happened in Mira Road, will happen here too, the bulldozer will be deployed.”
Hate speech 3: The petitioners have also sought for action against Singh’s speech at Mira Road on February 25. On February 25, a ‘Hindu Jan Aakrosh Morcha’ was taken out in Mira Road area of Thane, Maharashtra. The chief speaker at this event was BJP MLA T. Raja Singh. Singh, who had granted conditional permission to deliver a speech at the said rally, could be seen using anti-Muslim slur and provocative words. Through his speech, Singh spread misinformation and disinformation in the name of Maharashtrian revered Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. The issue of temples being demolished and mosques being built over them was raised again and again by the habitual hate-speaker to incite his audience. Referring to the recently inaugurated Ram Mandir in Ayodhya, and the violent act of demolition of the Babri Mosque, the BJP leader called for repeating the same in mosques present in Kashi and Mathura towns. The full details of the 40 minute speech by Singh can be accessed here.
Action sought through the petition:
The petition provides that as the Election Commission of India has announced the schedule for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the Model Code of Conduct has come into force. Hence, the petitioners underscore that if action is not taken against these individuals, it may embolden them and other political leaders to resort to hate speech and incitement with the sole aim of polarizing the citizens for votes.
The petition states “The Petitioners apprehend that if action is not taken against individual like MLA Nitish Rane, MLA Geeta Jain, and Legislator T. Raja for spreading hate speech and inciting violence, the same may embolden them as well as other political leaders to resort to hate speech and incitement with the sole aim of polarizing the citizens for votes. It is submitted that the same may not only result in widespread violence, but shall also hamper free and fair elections, which are part of the basic structure of the Constitution of India.”
The petitioners have also emphasised that communal harmony, religious freedom, and the rule of law are part of the basic structure of the Constitution of India and if hate speech is not prosecuted, it puts all three of them at risk. Emphasising a delay of eight weeks in filing cases against the hate speakers, the petitions states “Because, the proclamations / speeches made are widely available on the internet and qualify as both extreme hate speech and also as violent speech inciting targeted killings of citizens from a minority community, which would pass the ‘spark in a powder keg’ test laid down in in Ragarajan v. P. Jagjeevan Ram and Ors. (1989) 2 sec 574”.
In addition to ensuring action and filing of FIRs, the petitioners have also sought directions to the police to file regular status reports on the investigation’s progress before the court. Notably, the case is likely to be heard on March 27, as per LiveLaw.
Related:
Sharp increase in violence against Christians, 161 incidents of violence in 75 days of 2024
Report: 668 incidents of hate speech in 2023; BJP major player