New Delhi [India], April 21 : The Supreme Court on Tuesday granted two weeks to the Uttar Pradesh government to add religion-based outrage and hate crime offences which are provided under Sections 153B and 295A, of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) against persons booked for allegedly physically abusing a Muslim cleric in a moving Van in Noida in 2021.
As per the Clerik Kazeem Ahmad Sherwani's complaint in June 2021, a group of men in a moving Van initially offered him a lift while he was travelling to Aligarh from Noida and then began abusing him by pulling his beard and removing his cap.
Expressing its dissatisfaction, a bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta noted that despite its earlier order questioning why the authorities have not invoked the aforesaid provisions yet. The Court stated that it was inclined to summon the Investigating Officer (I/O) to explain the compliance failure.
However, on a request made by the counsel appearing for Uttar Pradesh, Additional Solicitor General (ASG) K.M. Nataraj, seeking time to ensure full compliance with the Court's earlier order, it granted two weeks to the Uttar Pradesh government.
The Court has listed the matter for the next hearing on May 19.
In an earlier hearing in the matter in February, the Court had asked the Uttar Pradesh government to "do their part" by invoking hate crime offences in the matter after ASG Nataraj submitted that the same would apply.
Sherwani approached the Supreme Court in November 2021, alleging that Noida authorities initially refused to register his complaint. He also sought a compensation framework for hate crime victims and action against erring officers.
In January 2023, the Uttar Pradesh Police registered an FIR, which only invoked charges limited to criminal intimidation and hurt, claiming the accused persons had intended to commit robbery. The Uttar Pradesh government had also informed the Court that disciplinary proceedings had been initiated against the concerned officers for failure to register the complaint.
The Court had earlier also questioned why the police are not invoking provisions relating to religion-based offences when the alleged offence appears to have a religious colour to it.
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