Why Can’t Yogi Be Prosecuted for Hate Speeches?: SC Asks UP Govt

Adityanath was accused of delivering hate speeches in 2007 which allegedly led to communal clashes in Gorakhpur.

The Supreme Court on Monday, 20 August issued a notice to the Uttar Pradesh government asking it to explain why Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath cannot be prosecuted for allegedly giving hate speeches in 2007.

(Photo: PTI)

The Supreme Court on Monday, 20 August issued a notice to the Uttar Pradesh government asking it to explain why Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath cannot be prosecuted for allegedly giving hate speeches in 2007, Hindustan Times (HT) reported.

Adityanath, who was the BJP’s Gorakhpur MP in 2007, was accused of delivering provocative speeches in the city during the Muharram procession, which allegedly led to communal clashes.

The SC notice comes in the backdrop of a petition filed by Parwej Parvaz, challenging the Allahabad high court’s February 2018 decision to accept the state’s refusal to sanction the prosecution of Adityanath.

A bench comprising of chief justice of India Dipak Misra, and justices AM Khanwilkar and DY Chandrachud sent notices to the UP government, its home department, and the district magistrate and superintendent of police of Gorakhpur.

The 2007 Gorakhpur Riots

According to Firstpost, in January 2007, an altercation involving a group of Hindus and Muslims broke out during a Muharram procession in Gorakhpur leading to the hospitalisation of one Raj Kumar Agrahari.

After Agrahari succumbed to his injuries, Adityanath visited the site with a bunch of his followers, despite the District Magistrate’s clear instructions against it, and staged a dharna.

Adityanath then reportedly made inflammatory speeches and some of his followers set ablaze a mazar (Muslim mausoleum). According to Firstpost, a curfew was then imposed by the local police, but Adityanath broke it and was subsequently jailed.

Following his arrest, several coaches of the Mumbai-bound Mumbai-Gorakhpur Godan Express were burnt, allegedly by protesting Hindu Yuva Vahini activists. The tensions escalated to riots across Gorakhpur.

UP Govt’s Refusal to Prosecute Adityanath

According to HT, UP’s principal home secretary on 3 May, 2017 had refused to grant a sanction to prosecute CM Adityanath saying that the draft probe report filed by the police showed there was insufficient evidence to initiate a trial against him.

The government had also noted that the video evidence submitted by the complainant against Adityanath and four others - sent to the Central Forensic Science Laboratory in October 2014 - had been “tampered” with.

The Allahabad high court had dismissed Parvaz’s petition saying it found no discrepancy in the investigation into the 2007 Gorakhpur riots “hate speech” case, HT reported. A plea to hand over the case to the Central Bureau of Investigation was also denied.

(With inputs from Hindustan Times and Firstpost)