"You should have taken suo motu cognisance": SG Tushar Mehta in sharp exchange with Supreme Court on hate speech in Kerala against Hindus

Solicitor General (SG) Tushar Mehta engaged in a sharp exchange with a Supreme Court bench of Justices KM Joseph and BV Nagarathna on Wednesday in the case seeking action against hate speeches being made across the country [Shaheen Abdullah vs Union of India]..SG Mehta said that the bench should not single out hate speeches in Maharashtra but should consider such instances in States like Kerala and Tamil Nadu as well.In this regard, he specifically highlighted hate speech against Hindus in Kerala and asked why the Court has not take suo motu cognisance of the same. "We have also found some statements which should be added to this petition. Leader of DMK party says that if you want equality you should butcher all the Brahmins....Please hear this clip from Kerala. This is shocking. It should shock the conscience of this court. A child has been made to say this. We should be embarrassed. He says 'Hindus and Christians should prepare for final rites'," the SG said."Yes yes we know," replied Justice Joseph."Then you should have taken suo motu cognisance," said the SG.The Court was hearing a batch of pleas seeking that steps be taken against hate speech incidents.The Court was specifically dealing with a plea by one Shaheen Abdullah seeking contempt of court action against hate speeches being made in Maharashtra by Hindu right wing leaders.During the hearing, the SG urged the Court to call for a response from the State of Kerala in relation to speech clips against Hindus and Christians. "Why are we shying away from looking at the clip," he asked."There is a method to see this. this applies to all of them equally. You can include this in submission," Justice Joseph said."Let us not be selective.. I am showing clip which is on public domain," the SG said."Hate speech is a vicious cycle and people will react. State will have to initiate a process," said Justice Joseph..The Court then asked Maharashtra to file its response to the petition.The SG insisted that notice should be issued to State of Kerala as well."Please please please do not do this and this will be a justification of the clip," the SG said."State is behaving impotent and does not take action on time," the bench said.SG Mehta then said that it was the State of Kerala which did not take action while the Central government did. "Can't say that about any State but Centre is not (impotent). Centre has banned PFI. Please issue notice to State of Kerala so that they can respond to this," the SG said.He insisted that the instance of hate speech from Kerala be also made a part of the petition."Why do you not see the Kerala clip? Mr Jain's plea has statements.. let the petitioner incorporate this," the SG once again insisted."Let Mr Jain fight his own case," the SG said."No no let us see the petitioner does it or not," the SG said."The instances which I am pointing out .. these statements must be looked at," Jain also weighed in."Let us not make this into a drama. This is a legal proceeding," the bench said and posted the case for further consideration on April 28..The court was hearing a batch of pleas seeking steps to be taken against hate speech incidents.Today, the bench was dealing with a contempt petition with regard to defiance of its order allowing the conduct of the Hindu Janakrosh Morcha in Mumbai.The Court had during one of the earlier hearings permitted the event subject to the condition that no hate speech will be made at the event. It had also asked the Maharashtra government to ensure the same, ordering that the events be video graphed.The petitioners stated that the event and subsequent ones under its umbrella saw multiple hate speech incidents against Muslims.In relation to this issue, the bench sought a response from the State of Maharashtra..In July last year, the top court had directed the Union Home Ministry to prepare a detailed chart outlining the compliance of States with the general directions issued by it in the judgments of Shakti Vahini and Tehseen Poonawalla, towards curbing hate speech..In September, the apex court had taken a very dim view of the functioning of mainstream television news channels in the country, stating that they often give space for hate speech and then escape without any sanctions. Further, it observed that politicians benefit the most out of their hate speech getting a platform.In October, the Court had ordered the Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand Police to take suo motu action in cases of hate speech without looking at the religion of the offenders..During an earlier hearing, the Supreme Court had also taken a dim view of the functioning of the National Broadcasting Standards Authority (NBSA), observing that television channels in India are creating divisions in the society since such channels are driven by agenda and compete to sensationalise news.The Central government had responded by saying that it is planning to introduce comprehensive amendments to the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) to tackle hate speech.Read more about today's hearing here..[Follow our live-coverage of today's hearing]