In the wake of the recent communal clashes in Nuh and Gurugram, an application has been filed in the Supreme Court seeking to halt the rallies proposed by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Bajrang Dal in the Delhi-NCR region. The plea was filed as an Interlocutory Application (IA) in a pending writ petition concerning hate speeches.
Senior Advocate Chander Uday Singh mentioned the application for urgent listing before Justice Aniruddha Bose, as the Chief Justice of India and the next four senior judges are sitting in the Constitution Bench for hearing the Article 370 case. Singh informed Justice Bose that twenty-seven marches have been announced by VHP-Bajrang Dal in various parts of the National Capital Region to protest against the happenings in Nuh.
However, Justice Bose expressed doubts regarding whether he has the authority to entertain the mentioning for the listing of the IA and asked Singh to get a confirmation regarding this. Following this, Singh appeared before the CJI’s bench, which was about to start the hearing in the Constitution Bench matter.
Singh submitted;
“I am really sorry to do this. A clarification is needed on whether Hon’ble Justice Bose’s bench can hear mentioning. This is something very urgent…”,
Before he could complete, CJI replied,
“There is a provision in the latest SoP, circulate an email. However urgent something is, once the mentioning is not available or mentioning is over, the email will be put up by the Registrar (Listing) and I pass immediate orders on listing. Just read the SoP. It has everything in it.”
The CJI further added,
“Every mentioning request made till last night 9 PM was attended to. I was a little more liberal since I knew this was going to happen as the first five judges are in the Constitution Bench. All requests have been granted. If there is something over and above that, the SoP has a provision. Follow that. I will give a date immediately.”
The violence in Nuh district broke out after a mob attacked a VHP procession following rumors that cow vigilante Monu Manesar would be participating in the march. At least five people were killed in the ensuing clashes and at least 70 were injured, including policemen. The police have registered about 40 cases and arrested over 80 people in connection with the communal violence. The VHP later announced that they would hold protests over the violence in the NCR on Wednesday.