On Monday, Chief Justice of India SA Bobde expressed the Supreme Court’s helplessness in preventing communal violence. Hearing a petition f...
On Monday, Chief Justice of India SA Bobde expressed the Supreme Court’s helplessness in preventing communal violence. Hearing a petition filed by activist Harsh Mander, seeking the registration of first information reports against ruling Bharatiya Janata Party leaders who delivered hate speeches that fuelled the worst communal riots in four decades in Delhi last week, Justice Bobde said courts have never been able to stop “such things.”
“We would wish peace, but there are certain limitations on our power,” he said. “The height of pressure on us, you should know. We can’t handle that.”
The observation created an immediate stir. While it is true that ensuring public order is the job of the executive, the judiciary can certainly step in and pull up the state for failing to contain riots. The Supreme Court cannot wash its hands off in a situation where the state either fails to act or is complicit with those stoking hate and violence.
Mander’s petition presents an opportunity for the Supreme Court to showcase its seriousness in not tolerating disturbances to public order. After all, the speeches and slogans raised by the BJP satisfy the legal test laid down by the court itself on what constitutes a hate speech offence.
