On July 1, 2022, Supreme Court of India rebuked Nupur Sharma, the suspended spokesperson of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) while dismissing her petition to club FIRs against her in different states with the one in Delhi over her remarks on the Prophet Mohammed.
The vacation bench of Justices Surya Kant and JB Pardiwala came down heavily on Nupur Sharma for making “disturbing” and derogatory remarks against Prophet Mohammed and igniting communal rift in the country. The bench reportedly held that she has a “loose tongue” and held her “single-handedly responsible for what is happening in the country”. This, just days after a tailor was beheaded for allegedly supporting and sharing her remarks.
The Court reportedly remarked, “What is her business to make these remarks? The way she has ignited emotions across the country… This lady is single handedly responsible for what is happening in the country.”
When brought to the court’s attention by Nupur Sharma’s counsel Senior Advocate Mahinder Singh that she had given out a written apology, the Court said, “She should have gone to the TV and apologised to the nation…She was too late to withdraw…and too she withdraws conditionally, saying if sentiments hurt.”
The bench also pulled up the Delhi Police for their inaction. The Court reportedly asked, “What has Delhi Police done? Don’t make us open our mouth. When you get an FIR registered against XYZ, he is arrested immediately… Nobody has dared to touch you. What if she is the spokesperson of a party? She thinks she has back-up power and can make any statement without respect to the law of the land? These are not religious people at all, they make statements to provoke.”
When it was brought up by Senior Advocate Singh that there was threat to her life, Justice Surya Kant reportedly retorted, “She has threat or she has become a security threat?”
It is important to note here that Alt News Fact-checker Mohammad Zubair, who had brought to light Sharma’s comments on Prophet was reportedly arrested by the Delhi Police on Monday over a tweet he had posted in 2018.
As reported by LiveLaw, the Supreme Court also expressed its reservation on Sharma bypassing the lower courts and directly approaching the apex court. “The petition smacks of her arrogance, that the Magistrates of the country are too small for her.” The Supreme Court reportedly observed that the channel had no business to discuss the matter which is sub-judice, “except to promote an agenda”. It added that if Sharma was aggrieved by alleged misuse of the debate, she should have lodged an FIR against the anchor.
The bench reportedly declined to provide any relief to Sharma as Justice Surya Kant told her counsel, “No, Mr Singh, when the conscience of the court is not satisfied, we must mould the law accordingly.”
CJP was among first to call out Times Now’s bias towards BJP’s Nupur Sharma
Citizens for Justice and Peace (CJP) was perhaps among the first organisations to raise the issue and write to Times Now about their News Hour debate show ‘The Gyanvapi Files’ that aired on May 26, 2022. The CJP wrote to Times Now on June 1, soon after studying the issue in detail, after Mohd Zubair of ALtNews had tweeted exposing the story on May 27. The Times Now debate seemed one-sided and partisan, and had thus violated “the basic principles of journalism and those laid down by the esteemed News Broadcasting and Digital Standards Authority (NBDSA),” wrote CJP. The letter highlighted how anchor Navika Kumar appeared biased towards Nupur Sharma and did not even attempt to intervene even when Sharma made remarks about Prophet Mohammed. The narrative of the show appeared to suggest that it intended to spread hatred, stigmatise and demean the Muslim community on national television, on a channel that is accessible and within the reach of a large number of people and has a huge societal influence.
Nupur Sharma, then the BJP’s national spokesperson said, “They (Muslims) should be told to shut up and stop insulting our (Hindu) religion. Otherwise, we are also capable of hitting them where it hurts. They may call it a fountain as much as they want, but the reality is that even the Supreme Court ordered immediate protection of the area…” She then went on to make even more comments targeting Muslims asking, “Claims made in the Quran about your flying horses… that the earth is flat …should I make fun of it?” But the shocker was when she alleged that Prophet Mohammed, revered by all Muslims, married and defiled a child.
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