"TRY HATE SPEECH CRIMES IN MILITARY COURTS”

Hate speeches have become the norm over the last few years. Recently, the Delhi Police told the Supreme Court that there was no anti-Muslim hate speech by Sudarshan TV editor-in-chief Suresh Chavhanke and other Hindu rightwing leaders at the Delhi Dharam Sansad organised by the Hindu Yuva Vahini last year in December. No "hate" words were used against any particular community at the event, the Police maintained.

- MOHAMMAD JAVED RASHEEDI

Noted criminal jurisprudence lawyer and Supreme Court Bar Association lifetime member PAMARTY VENKATARAMANA has radical views on how to tackle hate speech crimes. He tells MOHAMMAD JAVED RASHEEDI that an effective method would be to get the accused tried by military courts as these crimes are tantamount to anti-national actions and a court-martial is the best and most effective way to stem this rot.

Excerpts of the interview:

In the Delhi Dharam Sansad hate speech case, the Delhi Police recently closed all the complaints filed regarding the event. In its affidavit filed in the Supreme Court, the Police questioned the petitioners for moving the Court without first approaching it. Is it wrong to directly approach the apex court?

India is a plural society. It has a comprehensive book of the people, the Constitution. Rule of law prevails in black and white. The Indian Penal Code and the Criminal Procedure Code are applicable to all citizens. The provisions are clearcut and the procedures are well laid-out every literate person to understand. Sadly, the complexities and absurdities in both implementation and interpretation have arisen out of a Himalayan blunder by the founding fathers of the Constitution and the Constituent Assembly—the lack of a Uniform Civil Code which will bind customs, practices and erstwhile beliefs of the new Republic of India into one single law, be it on matters of marriage, divorce, inheritance, adoption or succession. As a result, the Orwellian line—“All men are equal but some men are more equal than others” – has literally come true in the country. This is compounded with unbridled freedom of expression enjoyed by TRP-hungry massmedia channels. There is no sanctity or curb on the "breaking news” hyped up by them, resulting in a whipping of emotions of the gullible public.