Mitali Palnitkar
Published on: March 15, 2022 at 21:23 IST
The Uttarakhand High Court denied Bail to Jitendra Tyagi aka Wasim Rizvi in the Haridwar Dharam Sansad Case. It observed that his Speech amounted to ‘Hate Speech’ which promoted enmity, intended to Wage War, and was derogatory towards Prophet Muhammad.
Justice Ravindra Maithani emphasized on the point that Hate Speech has far-reaching consequences. He refrained from reproducing Tyagi’s Speech delivered at Dharam Sansad in December, 2021.
The Court said that huge Derogatory Remarks were made against Prophet Muhammad and people belonging to a particular Religion.
It also said that the ‘Right to Freedom’ enshrined in the Constitution has Limitations as it is not an Absolute Right. The ‘Right to Freedom of Speech and Expression’ is subject to Restriction under Article 19(2) of the Constitution.
The Court did not find the Case to be fit for Bail after considering the repeated Nature of Allegations, the Speech made by Tyagi, the video published, and its impact on the society. Therefore, the Bail Application was Rejected.
Tyagi was Booked under Section 153A (Promoting enmity between different groups on Grounds of Race, Religion, Residence, Place of Birth, Language, etc) and Section 298 (Uttering words with an intention to hurt the Religious Feelings of a person) of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 by the Uttarakhand Police for his alleged Hate Speech.
Tyagi was denied Bail by a Local Court in January, 2022; for his Alleged Hate Speech made during the Dharam Sansad held at Haridwar.
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