The Supreme Court issued notices to the governments of Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand, and Danish Hassan, the complainant in the Srinagar case, asking them to submit their responses within four weeks.
New Delhi, March 28– The Supreme Court of India has issued notices in response to a plea by Jitendra Narayan Tyagi, previously known as Syed Waseem Rizvi, seeking to combine all criminal cases filed against him for allegedly making inflammatory speeches against Muslims during the Haridwar Dharam Sansad in 2021.
A bench comprising Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta considered the arguments presented by advocate Anurag Kishore, who stated that Tyagi, a resident of Lucknow, is facing four criminal cases, with one case registered in Srinagar.
The advocate pointed out that traveling to Jammu and Kashmir is dangerous for Tyagi because of continuous threats to his life. He requested the court to transfer the Srinagar case to Haridwar, where the other cases are already being heard.
The Supreme Court issued notices to the governments of Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand, and Danish Hassan, the complainant in the Srinagar case, asking them to submit their responses within four weeks.
While the court agreed to examine the request to consolidate all cases, it refused to grant Tyagi protection from any coercive action in the ongoing cases.
Three criminal cases against Tyagi are pending before the Chief Judicial Magistrate in Haridwar. In addition to these, a separate complaint was filed in Srinagar, leading to the court issuing summons and forming a special task force to arrest him.
Tyagi’s plea stated: “Petitioner prays for the issuance of direction…to club/consolidate all the criminal cases filed against the Petitioner throughout the country as there is a grave threat to life and safety of the petitioner…”
He claimed that because of the severe threats to his life, his fundamental right to life and liberty under Article 21 of the Constitution was being violated. He argued that the threats were preventing him from using his legal rights properly.
His plea also mentioned that he had received multiple death threats, and “fatwas” had been issued against him. One such fatwa came from Maulana Syed Mohammad Shabibul Husaini, who “publicly called for his execution.”
Earlier, the Supreme Court had granted Tyagi bail in one of the cases against him.
Another case against him was filed by Nadeem Ali from Jwalapur, Haridwar, at Haridwar Kotwali police station on January 2 this year.
Ali’s complaint stated that a “dharam sansad or a religious conclave was organised in Haridwar by Hindu sages from December 17 to 19, 2021,” during which “the participants were instigated to wage a war against Muslims.”
Ali further alleged that “objectionable words were allegedly used against the Holy Quran and Prophet Mohammad,” and these statements were later shared widely on social media.
The complaint named Tyagi, along with Yati Narsinghanand, as those responsible for circulating these videos.
The FIR also accused Prabodhanand Giri of attempting to “spread violence against the people living in Haridwar’s mosques.”
On Ali’s complaint, several individuals, including Tyagi, Narsinghanand Giri, Sagar Sindhu Maharaj, Dharamdas Maharaj, Parmanand Maharaj, Sadhvi Annapurna, and Swami Anand Swaroop, were booked under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). They were accused of making hate speeches under the guise of a religious gathering.
[Case Title: Jitendra Narayan Tyagi @ Syed Waseem Rizvi vs. State of Uttarakhand & Others]
