The Supreme Court on Wednesday asked for the transcript of the remarks reportedly made by petitioner Harsh Mander that he doesn’t have faith in the top court. The order came during the hearing in a case seeking FIRs against politicians for making hate speeches.
Besides Mander, another petition has also been filed by 10 people who have been affected by Delhi violence. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre, alleged that the petition by the 10 riots victims are also at the behest of Harsh Mander.
He also pointed out that senior counsel Colin Gonsalves, who had appeared for Harsh Mander in Delhi High Court, was now appearing in Supreme Court for the 10 riot victims raising the same issue and seeking the same reliefs.
Mehta further claimed that Mander had in a speech to CAA protesters said that he does not have faith in Supreme Court and that real justice can be done on the streets. The petitioner’s lawyer denied the allegations after which Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sharad Arvind Bobde asked for the transcript of Mander’s remarks.
“The allegations against Mander are serious. The court will not hear Mander till the issue on allegations against him is sorted out,” said the CJI. He asked the Solicitor General to file an affidavit on allegations against Mander.
Mander was also given liberty to respond to the allegations.
Mander has filed a petition in the Delhi High Court seeking FIR against politicians who have made inflammatory speeches. He has highlighted the remarks made by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders Kapil Mishra, Anurag Thakur and Parvesh Verma.
While Mishra is accused of making provocative statements leading to the flare-up in Northeast Delhi, Thakur and Verma made the remarks during their speeches in the run-up to Delhi Assembly elections last month.
A bench of the Delhi High Court led by Chief Justice DN Patel and Justice C Hari Shankar had last week given the police four weeks to respond to petitions that hate speeches by some political leaders had incited the protesters, leading to the riots in the national capital. Forty-six people have died in the riots and over 200 are injured.
