New Delhi, Mar 28: The Supreme Court on Tuesday observed that abjuring hate speech is a fundamental requisite for maintenance of communal harmony in the country.

A bench of Justices KM Joseph and BV Nagarathna made the observation while hearing a plea against hate speeches.

"Abjuring hate speech is fundamental requisite for maintenance of communal harmony," the bench observed orally.

The top court also asked Solicitor General Tushar Mehta what actions have been taken pursuant to lodging of FIRs as merely registering complaints is not going to solve the problem of hate speech.

Mehta told the court that 18 FIRs have been lodged in relation to hate speeches.
The matter was posted for hearing on Wednesday despite Mehta's and Additional Solicitor General KM Nataraj's objection.

Holding that the Constitution envisages India as a secular nation, the top court on October 21 last year had directed the Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand governments to come down hard on cases of hate speech, and registering criminal cases against culprits without waiting for a complaint to be filed.

It had also warned that any delay on the part of the administration in taking action on this "very serious issue" would invite the court's contempt.

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Washington: US President Donald Trump has said he has not yet considered whether he would continue the ceasefire involving Iran, while also claiming the United States holds the advantage in negotiations.

Speaking to reporters, Trump said he was prepared to make a deal with “whoever is running the show” in Iran.

“They are fighting with each other, there’s tremendous infighting. They’re probably fighting for leadership in many cases. I think they’re fighting not to be leader because we knocked out two levels of leaders,” he said.

Trump added, “When they want they can call me. We have all the cards, we’ve won everything.”

Referring to ongoing negotiations, he said, “They gave us a paper that should’ve been better. And, interestingly, immediately when I cancelled it [envoy trip to Pakistan], within 10 minutes we got a new paper that was much better.”

“We talked about they will not have a nuclear weapon, very simple … They offered a lot, but not enough,” he added.

When asked whether he would continue the ceasefire, Trump replied, “I haven’t even thought about it.”

The remarks come as uncertainty remains over the future of the temporary truce and broader negotiations between Washington and Tehran.