Hate speeches bulldoze constitutional ethos, those in power must act responsibly: Delhi HC

The court upheld the order of the trial court, which had turned down a similar appeal last year stating that there was no mandatory sanction from the central government.

The High Court, however, issued strong remarks on the hate speech, especially by political leaders.

Expressing concern, Justice Chandra Dhari Singh said, "Hate speech is given by elected representatives, political and religious leaders, especially on the basis of religion, caste, region or ethnicity is against the concept of brotherhood."

Such people, he said, "bulldoze the constitutional ethos" and violate the equality and liberty granted under the Constitution.

"This is a gross insult to the fundamental duties prescribed under the Constitution. Therefore, there is a need for strict action from the central and state governments," the judge said.

"In a democracy like India, the elected leaders carry their responsibility not only towards the voters in their constituency but also towards the society and nation as a whole and ultimately to the Constitution," the court said. 

In their petition before the trial court, Brinda Karat and KM Tiwari had said Anurag Thakur and Parvesh Varma "had sought to incite people, as a result of which three incidents of firing took place at two different protest sites in Delhi."

The comments were made on Jan 27, 2020, at a rally in Delhi's Rithala, where Anurag Thakur had lashed out at the anti-CAA protesters and exhorted the crowd to raise the "Shoot the traitors" slogan as the petitioners had claimed.

They also stated that on Jan 28, 2020, Parvesh Verma made incendiary comments against the anti-CAA protesters in Shaheen Bagh.