The Central Government has informed the Supreme Court that 28 States and
Union Territories have appointed nodal officers in compliance with its
guidelines to prevent mob violence and lynching following hate speech
incidents.
The Ministry of Home Affairs has filed a status report on a batch of
petitions seeking directions to prevent/curb hate speech.
The Centre in its status report told the top court that the states which
informed that they have appointed nodal officers are – Andhra Pradesh, Andaman
and Nicobar Islands, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Goa,
Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Jharkhand, Karnataka, UT of
Ladakh, Lakshadweep, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram,
Odisha, Puducherry, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Telangana, Tripura, Uttarakhand
and Uttar Pradesh.
The apex court has been hearing a batch of pleas seeking steps to be
taken against hate speech incidents.
By its August 25, 2023 order, the top court while hearing petitions
seeking measures to curb hate crimes, had sought responses from the state
government on the status of their compliance with the 2018 guidelines requiring
the establishment of district-level nodal officers by the States.
The Supreme Court in 2018, had issued a slew of guidelines for the Centre
and State governments to control and prevent the increasing number of hate
crimes, including mob violence and lynching.
The guidelines included fast-tracked trials, victim compensation,
deterrent punishment and disciplinary action against lax law-enforcing
officials. The top court had said offences such as hate crimes, cow vigilantism
and lynching incidents should be nipped in the bud.
It had said nodal officers were to be appointed to take note of hate
crimes and register FIRs across the nation.
ANI
