Lawyer moves Bombay High Court against Eknath Shinde, Nitesh Rane over alleged Islamophobic remarks

A petition has been filed before the Bombay High Court by a lawyer seeking registration of a First Information Report (FIR) against Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and BJP MLA Nitesh Rane for making alleged Islamophobic comments that hurt the religious sentiments of Muslim community.

The petitioner, advocate Mohammed Wasi Sayed, has said that he encountered a provocative video featuring self-proclaimed saint Mahant Ramgiri Maharaj, who made derogatory remarks about Prophet Mohammed.

During a public event attended by both the Mahant and CM Shinde, the Chief Minister reportedly expressed his support for the saint and warned the police against laying their hands on Mahant as long as remains in office.

This, Sayed has argued, undermines ongoing investigation.

MLA Nitesh Rane further inflamed tensions by threatening,

“If anybody says anything against Ramgiri Maharaj, we will enter your mosque and hit you one by one.”

He also allegedly made derogatory comments about Muslims by referring to them as “homosexuals.”

These statements, according to Sayed, should be seen as part of a broader trend of rising Islamophobia, which has become increasingly concerning in the country.

As per the plea, the remarks made by Shinde and Rane are strategically aimed at polarizing voters along communal lines, particularly with State assembly elections approaching.

"They started Islamophobic campaigns to divert the public attention from routine problems to hypothetical issues," Sayed said highlighting how such tactics could exacerbate social divisions.

The petition also highlighted the disturbing trend in online hate speech.

“The rise in islamophobia and hateful posts from India is on the rise. It has been felt almost in every corner. The data from Twitter/X is too alarming. The hateful tweets on X are increasing day after day. Therefore, mob lynching is increasing. Most of the hateful text, audio, and videos are undetected due to their being in native languages. The data is partially skewed because the USA and UK have a higher Twitter population as a percentage of their population, and the counted tweets were only in English. Thus, the native languages of India are least represented in the calculations and sampling,” the petition said.

Sayed also flagged the acts of certain social media users who allegedly spread Islamophobic content for political and economic gain.

They exploit social media platforms to amplify anti-Muslim sentiments and their rhetoric has had dangerous consequences, it was contended.

In light of the above, Sayed has sought FIR under various provisions of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita and the Information Technology Act against both Shinde and Rane along with a directive to halt live broadcasts of Rane's speeches targeting the Muslim community.

The Bombay High Court is expected to hear the petition soon.