SC notice to centre, EC on PIL seeking to prevent political leaders from making hate speeches

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday issued notices to the central government and the Election Commission on a PIL seeking court intervention to prevent elected leaders from making divisive hate speeches.

The PIL filed by NGO Pravasi Bhalai Sangathan sought a direction to the election commission to decognise parties whose leaders made speeches on religious, ethnic, caste or similar such lines.

The petition said that such hate speeches, spawning violence against migrant labourers, had become a tad too common because of state refusal to take action against the erring leaders. It cited the examples of Raj Thackeray's remarks against migrants from bihar and MLA Akbaruddin Owaisi's hate speech recently.

"This multi-nationalism is hurting the indian union," Lawyer Basva Patil argued. The bench led by the CJI then issued notices to the AP and Maharashtra governments as well. Maharashtra specially has seen a spate of attacks on bihar migrants after Thackeray's speech.