The Bombay High Court (HC) ruled that although it cannot prevent a public demonstration from taking place on Ram Navami in the city's Malwani neighbourhood; however, the bench has instructed state police personnel to follow the law if there is any violation, regardless of the political party that the speaker belongs to.
A petition to file formal complaints, or FIRs, against three MLAs for allegedly making hate speech during and after the communal disturbances, which occurred in the Naya Nagar area of Mira Road in the Thane district in January of this year, was being heard by a division bench consisting of Justices Revati Mohite-Dere and Manjusha A Deshpande.
The petitioner claimed that the rally's planners had stopped it in front of mosques and that they had purposefully scheduled the event to take place in minority communities. The state administration has been asked by the court to make sure that other routes are taken in the event of a breach of peace. The judge stated that in the end, you (the police) will have issues if there is a law and order issue.
Last week, the state government informed the high court that after seeing firsthand the films of statements given by Telangana BJP MLA T Raja Singh, Maharashtra BJP MLA Nitesh Rane, and Independent MLA Geeta Jain—who is a BJP supporter—the CPs will decide appropriately.
The government's advocate general, Birendra Saraf, submitted that the police would exercise "extra caution" and that the Commissioners of Police (CPs) of Mumbai, Mira-Bhayander, and Vasai-Virar (MBVV) will determine, as promised during the previous hearing on April 8, whether or not hate speech complaints against the relevant leaders can be filed within a week.
The court expressed its continued dissatisfaction and condemned Rane for being permitted to use the MBVV police commissioner's office space, where he was allegedly seen giving a hate speech during a press conference. It further declared that such an event would never occur again and that no one should be permitted to address the media in the CP office.
A second plea was heard by the court from a man named Shanul Hassan Sayed. He stated that the police had not filed a formal complaint about the violence on Mira Road, despite receiving nearly three complaints about it. He requested that a Special Investigation Team (SIT) overseen by the high court look into the complaints regarding the Sakal Hindu Samaj and other organisations' rallies on Mira Road and Malawani. It also demanded that the police follow Supreme Court rulings regarding hate speech.
Following the petitioners' concerns about an unfortunate event resulting from the Ram Navami rally in the Malwani area, the bench told police that this needed to be investigated. We are unable to prevent public gatherings, but regardless of political affiliation, we anticipate that your police will follow the law and take necessary action if any violations occur. The police have the right to intervene if the speaker says something inappropriate.
Regarding an additional issue (approving T. Raja Singh's rally in February), they promised to uphold their end of the bargain. Still, a formal complaint had to be filed. It is necessary to take action if there is any legal violation. It further stated that it would request that they submit an affidavit if they failed to act.
Every action must be followed through to its logical conclusion. The law would follow its own course if they (speakers and organisers) don't show restraint, the bench stated.
The bench asked to ensure that routes are changed in response to the petitioners' concern that the Ram Navami rally in the Malwani district would pass through areas populated by minorities. In the end, if there is an issue with law and order, you will have issues, and the police will have to deal with problems, the court said.
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