Plea in SC seeks court-monitored investigation, prosecution in connection with hate speeches
New Delhi (PTI): A plea has been filed in the Supreme Court seeking a court-monitored investigation and prosecution in hate crimes related to the "continuous attack" on the personality of Prophet Mohammad and disparaging remarks by various people in different parts of the country attacking the very belief system of Muslims at large.
The plea has been filed by the Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind through its president Maulana Syed Mahmood Asad Madani and it seeks a direction to the Centre for a report on the action taken by different state mechanisms in relation to hate speeches, more particularly targeting the personality of Prophet Mohammad.
The petition, which has been filed by advocate MR Shamshad, also sought directions and orders for constituting an independent committee to compile all the complaints related to hate crimes in the country.
"It is submitted that insulting Prophet Mohammad is akin to attacking the very foundation of Islam and in that sense, is of an extremely grave nature as it results in not only the targeting of Muslim people, but also assailing the basis of their faith," the plea said.
It said such speeches go beyond the limits of a permitted critical denial of another's beliefs and are certainly likely to incite religious intolerance, and the state as well as the central authorities ought to consider the same to be incompatible with respect to the freedom of thought, conscience and religion, and must take proportionate restrictive measures.
"It is also pointed out in the petition that such speeches destroy the secular fabric of our nation, which also forms the part of the basic structure of our Constitution. Resultantly, the respondents, being bound by the Constitution, ought to have an adversarial relationship with the proponents of such speeches and must take adequate remedial steps to prevent the same," the plea said.
The Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind said it has approached the court after waiting for a considerable amount of time and giving the state authorities time to take appropriate steps for remedial action as well as preventive measures.
"However, it appears that the state authorities have completely failed in this regard. The petitioners have also taken steps by lodging appropriate complaints before the police authorities. Against many other communally sensitive speeches, the police has not at all registered an FIR and if the aggrieved persons have approached the court of the magistrate seeking appropriate directions for registration of FIRs, the magistrate has dismissed the complaints...," the plea said.
It added that considering the facts, it is necessary that the court invokes the extraordinary jurisdiction by issuing appropriate directions, fixing the accountability of responsible persons placed within the system and also laying certain guidelines as to how the issue of hate speeches and those accused of giving such speeches are to be dealt with in a time-bound manner.
"The petitioners are making the submissions being conscious of the fact that these hate speeches, specifically when they are made against religious personalities like Prophet Mohammad and the Muslim community at large, the diversity in the country and the peaceful coexistence of the followers of different religious beliefs come under a serious threat," the plea stated.
It added that protecting the diversity and peaceful coexistence of all citizens of the country is the collective responsibility of the society at large, including the authorities responsible for maintaining law and order.
"In view of the continuous attacks on the Muslim community at large, many violent acts have taken place in which many precious lives have been lost, mostly of people belonging to the Muslim community. In this background, it is necessary that this court considers passing appropriate directions in the line of the prayers made in the petition," the plea said.
Recently, 76 lawyers wrote to Chief Justice of India N V Ramana, requesting him to take suo motu cognisance of the hate speeches allegedly made at separate events organised in Delhi and Haridwar.
The letter alleged that the speeches delivered during the events were not mere hate speeches but amounted to an open call for killing the members of a community.
"The said speeches thus, pose a grave threat not just to the unity and integrity of our country but also endanger the lives of millions of Muslim citizens," it said.
"It is also pointed out that the recent speeches are a part of a series of similar speeches that we have come across in the past.... Thus, urgent judicial intervention is required to prevent such events that seem to have become the order of the day," the letter read.
It was signed by senior advocates Salman Khurshid, Dushyant Dave and Meenakshi Arora, among others.
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Real Madrid fines Valverde and Tchouaméni half a million euros each for altercation
Barcelona (AP): Real Madrid slapped players Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni with half-a-million-euro ($588,000) fines on Friday for their altercation during practice.
The massive fines came a day after the midfielders tussled when the team trained. Valverde said in a post on social media on Thursday that no punches were thrown. But Valverde knocked his head on a table and he suffered a small cut that required a brief hospital visit.
On social media, Valverde initially called it a “meaningless fight” with a teammate and said “everything has been blown out of proportion."
His employers, however, considered it a significant enough breach of team discipline to nail both Valverde and Tchouaméni with fines that bite even the bank account of a top soccer player. The half-a-million euro penalties reflect the reputational damage the club was enduring in a chaotic end to a disappointing season.
In a statement, the 15-time European champion said its disciplinary action was concluded after both players expressed to the club “their complete remorse for what happened and apologized to one another.”
Madrid added they also apologized to their teammates, the coaching staff and club supporters, as well as showing their willingness to accept whatever disciplinary action the club deemed “opportune.”
Tchouaméni was back training with Madrid on Friday, two days before they play at Barcelona in a clasico. Madrid has to win otherwise Barcelona will be crowned La Liga champion.
After being notified of the fine, he posted a public apology to the club and its fans on social media.
“What happened this week in training is unacceptable,” Tchouaméni wrote. "I say this while thinking about the example we are expected to set for young people, whether in football or at school.
“Above all, I am sorry for the image we projected of the club.”
Valverde was not at practice due to the head knock.
Both players are set to play in the World Cup next month, with Tchouaméni playing for France and Valverde for Uruguay.
Chaotic end to a poor season
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The run-in between the players, who for seasons have played side by side in Madrid's midfield, came after they argued this week in previous training sessions. But tempers boiled over on Thursday. Spanish media was rife with reports that the players previously disagreed over the club's decision to let coach Xabi Alonso go after just months on the job.
It was not the only altercation involving Madrid players during training this week. Álvaro Carreras confirmed he was in a “minor” incident with a teammate. Spanish media said he and fellow defender Antonio Rüdiger got into a scuffle.
Álvaro Arbeloa, the coach who was promoted from Madrid's reserve team when Alonso was fired in January, will face tough questions on what went wrong inside the changing room when he gives a press conference on Saturday ahead of the clasico at Camp Nou.
Madrid is facing a second consecutive campaign without a major trophy amid rumors in the Spanish media that club president Florentino Pérez is considering bringing back Jose Mourinho to straighten out his underperforming team.
