The Supreme Court of India refused to entertain a plea seeking recognition of “Brahmophobia,” with BV Nagarathna stressing hate speech against any community is unacceptable and must be addressed through education, tolerance, fraternity and societal values.
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court declined to entertain a petition seeking to recognise hate speech against the Brahmin community as a punishable offence, labelling the phenomenon “Brahmophobia”.
A Bench of Justices BV Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan, which was initially inclined to dismiss the petition filed by Mahalingam Balaji in person, emphasised that hate speech against any community is unacceptable.
Justice Nagarathna said,
“We don’t want hate speech against any community in the country. It depends on education, intellectual development, tolerance, and patience. Once everyone follows the fraternity, automatically there will be no hate speech.”
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The petitioner sought permission to withdraw his plea, and the court allowed it.
The Bench recorded,
“The petitioner, who has appeared in person, has sought permission to withdraw this petition. His submission is placed on record. The writ petition is dismissed as withdrawn,”
During proceedings, Justice Nagarathna questioned why a single community should seek protection only for itself and not for others. She stated that nobody should engage in hate speech and suggested that specific incidents be taken up before the appropriate forums rather than through the judiciary.
When Balaji claimed the judiciary was being targeted on social media, the Bench responded that it was not concerned about false attacks on the judiciary.
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In his petition, Balaji had sought directions to the Centre and state governments to treat hate speech directed at Brahmins as a punishable form of caste-based discrimination and to take prompt legal action in such cases. He also sought a detailed investigation by appropriate agencies into alleged “coordinated domestic or foreign campaigns” aimed at fomenting caste conflict by promoting targeted hatred against the Brahmin community.
Further, he requested that the Centre set up a high-level truth and justice commission to “investigate and acknowledge the 1948 Maharashtra Brahmin Genocide and the 1990 Kashmiri Pandit Genocide; and recommend measures for rehabilitative, economic, and educational support to survivors and their descendants”.
Balaji also sought directions to disqualify any public servant or constitutional office holder found to have engaged in caste-based hate speech against Brahmins.
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