The Maharashtra government has not taken any action against a series of alleged hate speeches in rallies by Sakal Hindu Samaj (SHS) across the state. Surprisingly, the state government had had assured the Supreme Court in April last year that it was taking action in these cases.
At least 25 FIRs have been lodged against the hate speeches in January-April 2023, with 16 related to the Samaj rallies.
The affidavit filed by the state had told the apex court that the DGP had “directed” all Commissioners and Superintendents of Police “to (suo motu) initiate action” as and when any such speech took place.
More than a year later, that assurance does not seem to have gone beyond those FIRs.
The police are yet to file a charge sheet in at least 19 of the 25 cases, including all 16 linked to SHS. Each of these “sensitive” cases is at various stages of a laborious process to obtain the state government’s sanction for prosecution. Understandably so, because eight of the 19 cases involve MLAs or public figures.
Sanction is mandatory under the sections invoked in these cases to file the charge sheet — 153(A) and 295(A) related to communal enmity and insult in the IPC.
In the absence of a charge sheet, the legal process, including action against the accused or trial, is on pause.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who holds the Home portfolio in the BJP-Sena-NCP government, said, “We will take decisions in accordance with the law.”
A senior officer from Maharashtra police said there was no pendency at their level and that if the required documents were not attached while sending proposals for prosecution sanction, they were pointed out to the officer concerned.
Of the 19 cases, four FIRs are still at the level of vetting by senior officers.
Overall in 2023, only 18 FIRs related to hate speech were sent for prosecution sanction to the state government and just one in 2024 so far.
Of these, RTI records show, only one proposal for sanction related to SHS rallies is with the Home Department — from Kranti Nagar station in Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar.
Asked about this discrepancy between RTI records and the investigating officers’ assertions that they had sent proposals for prosecution sanction in 19 cases, a senior Home official attributed this to the “bureaucratic process”.
The procedure for prosecution sanction in sensitive cases can take six-eight months from the registration of FIR, the official said.
According to the official, senior police officers vet these proposals while ensuring that the required paperwork is in place, and a committee goes through each complaint. If the committee is convinced that an offence is made out, the complaint is forwarded to the Home department for approval. After the final green light is received from the government, a chargesheet is filed and the case goes to trial.
“In several cases, police officers do not attach the proper documents so we have to send them back. In one case, for instance, we received an application for prosecution sanction for an FIR registered in 2014,” said the official from the Home department.
In cases of communal hate speech, according to Section 196 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), the police have to seek permission from the Home Department before they can file a chargesheet in such sensitive cases.
Both IPC and CrPC were replaced by Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, and Bhartiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023, respectively, this year — 153 (A) IPC was replaced by 196 BNS and 295 (A) by 298 BNS. But there is no change in the requirement for prosecution sanction on these charges.
The Maharashtra government’s submission in the SC was related to a petition filed in February 2023 by Kerala-based multimedia journalist Shaheen Abdullah seeking directions to bar an SHS rally to be held in Mumbai citing alleged hate speeches at an earlier event conducted by the outfit.
The Supreme Court directed the state to ensure that hate speech is not delivered and an offence be registered in case of violation.
One month later, Abdullah approached the SC again through a contempt petition alleging the government was not taking action and provided a list of 16 instances of alleged hate speech. It was in response to this plea that the Maharashtra government, while denying the allegations, submitted the list of 25 FIRs.
SHS is an umbrella organisation of pro-Hindutva outfits such as Hindu Janajagruti Samiti, Shiv Pratishthan and Sanatan Sanstha. It has been actively organising rallies in Maharashtra since November 2022.
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