[Breaking] Hate Speech Disturbs Communal Harmony & Peace of the Society; Such Activities Cannot be Tolerated in any Civilized Society: Gurugram Court Rejects Bail Plea of Ram Bhagat Gopal
(Judicial Quest News Network)
Gurugram court has rejected bail to Ram bhagat Gopal, accused of making a provocative and communal speech against a particular religious community in a public gathering (Maha Panchayat) in Haryana.
In a strongly worded order, Judicial Magistrate Mohammed Sageer said that people who give such communally charged speeches and create disharmony are harmful to the country than COVID-19 pandemic.
“Hate speech based on religion or caste has become fashion nowadays. The
police also seem to be helpless of dealing with such incidents. These kinds of activities are actually disturbing the secular fabric of our Country and killing the spirit of the Constitution of India. It creates tensions and sense of insecurity in the minds of common public which is not a good sign for healthy Democratic Society. Peace is the essence and sine qua non for development and civilized society. “The order said.
Gopal was arrested after he participated in an event and allegedly delivered hate speech targeting a particular religious community and used inflammatory language to instigate the mob to abduct girls of particular community and to kill persons of that community.
Ram Bhagat Gopal is the same person who fired a pistol during the protest in Jamia area where anti CAA-NRC protest was held in Delhi.
Perusing the contents of FIR and the video recording available, the court noted that it was clear that a gathering was present where the accused, Gopal Sharma gave hate speeches and used inflammatory language raised slogans in the name of religion to kill persons of particular community.
While delivering the order Judge Mohammed Sageer observed that the conscience of the court was utterly shocked while seeing the actual incidents which took place at that time. In the video recording.
The act of the accused i.e., hate speech qua instigating abduction and killing of girls and persons of a particular religious community is itself a form of violence and such people and their inflammatory speeches are obstacle to the growth of a true democratic spirit.
It leads to destruction of our society as people will fight based on religion. Religious tolerance is the need of the time and not the Intolerance. It is necessary for individual within the society to get along, especially when a variety of cultures and the people with different religious beliefs live in one community or nation.
When our country which is facing the second deadly wave of Covid Pandemic and a large population are hardly meeting with two times bread, such kind of people who are trying to create disharmony and imparting hatred amongst the common people are actually harming this country more than the pandemic as the pandemic will take life of
any person without seeing the religion or caste and only upon the negligence but if any communal violence takes place following such hate speeches, then lots of innocent lives will be lost only on the basis of religion and without any negligence on the part of such innocent people.
The counsel for the accused/applicant submitted that Ram bhagat has been made scapegoat in this case and due to early inflammatory speeches of other persons and charged atmosphere, the accused got carried away and that keeping in view of his young age and innocent mind, he be released on bail.
The APP for the State opposed the bail plea and submitted that the accused has been booked under serious offences u/s 153-A,295-A of the Indian Penal Code and he voluntarily participated in that event.
After considering the material placed on record and submissions of the parties the court analysed the factual background of the incident. The court said that the defence tried to mislead the court because the applicant/accused himself admitted that the person who is giving inflammatory speech in the video recording at the time of occurrence is the present accused namely Rambhakt Gopal Sharma.
The court further observed that the faith of common man has to be restored that the State is having the Secular character and not in support of such kind of persons, promoting
hatred and enmity in the name of religion, caste etc. It is the time to give a strong message to such anti-social elements who distribute hatred based on religion etc by way of Hate speech that the Rule of Law still prevails.
While dismissing the bail plea, the court said that the act of the accused amounts to hate speech and it can also lead to “destruction of our society”
Hence observing that the alleged offences committed by the accused person are very serious in nature and that the consequence of these kinds of activities may be far more dangerous and it may translate into communal violence, the court denied the bail to him
