Petition filed in Bombay HC seeks FIRs against politicians for hate speeches after Mira Road violence. Victims Aftab Siddique, Ashfak Ali Akbarali Shaikh, Asgar Ali Shakoor Raeen, Ismail Khan, and Sajjad Khatib are among the petitioners.
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MUMBAI: On Thursday(21st March), A petition has been filed in the Bombay High Court, demanding the registration of First Information Reports (FIRs) against prominent Politicians for their alleged involvement in delivering ‘hate speech‘.
The individuals in question include Nitesh Rane, a Maharashtra BJP MLA; T Raja Singh, a Telangana BJP MLA; and Geeta Jain, an independent MLA from Mira Bhayander, who is currently supporting the BJP. The incidents that occurred following the January outbreak of violence in Mira Road, a northern suburb of Mumbai.
The plea was initiated by five individuals, including two victims of the January violence. These petitioners, identified as Aftab Siddique, Ashfak Ali Akbarali Shaikh, Asgar Ali Shakoor Raeen, Ismail Khan, and Sajjad Khatib, hail from the regions of Thane and Mumbai.
They were compelled to approach the High Court as their requests for FIR registration against the alleged hate speeches had been unaddressed.
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The court is expected to review their plea on March 27th.
According to the petition, the violence, which erupted in a minority locality of Mira Road on January 21, saw subsequent visits by Rane, Jain, and Singh between January and February. During their visits, they allegedly made public threats against the minority community through their speeches and media interviews, exacerbating the tension.
The petition specifically requests that the Naya Nagar police station in the Mira-Bhayandar police commissionerate, along with the Shivaji Nagar and Ghatkopar police stations in the Mumbai police commissionerate, take action by registering FIRs against the three accused leaders.
These FIRs would pertain to the alleged hate speeches made within their respective jurisdictions between January and February.
The document describes the events that followed these speeches, highlighting a number of major and minor clashes, including assaults on minority individuals. It censures the police for their inaction, taking note of that regardless of the event of disdain discourses and actual assaults, no FIRs were enlisted, nor were any captures made regarding the occurrences.
The petitioners have emphasized the police’s failure to adhere to the Supreme Court’s directive, which mandates action against hate speeches regardless of the religion of the speaker or victim.
“The plea stated, ‘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,'”
-emphasizing the need for unbiased law enforcement to maintain communal harmony.
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Furthermore, the plea accuses the police of neglecting to file an FIR regarding the incidents of hate speech, despite widespread media coverage and public awareness. It seeks directives for the Mumbai Police to register FIRs against Rane, Jain, and Singh under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), including sections 153 (provocation with intent to cause riots), 153A and 153B (promoting enmity between different groups), 295A (defiling place of worship), and 504 and 505 (statements conducive to public mischief and breaking public peace).
Additionally, the plea demands the filing of an FIR against Rane and Jain for alleged hate speeches made in Mira Road on January 23, and against Rane for similar charges in Govandi on February 10.