More than 260 eminent citizens of the country, including former High Court judges and Bureaucrats have written a letter to Chief Justice of India (CJI) D.Y. Chandrachud, asking him to take cognisance of DMK leader Udhayanidhi Stalin’s ‘eradicate Sanatan Dharma’ remark.
Written by 262 people, including former Delhi HC judge S.N. Dhingra, the letter petition said that Stalin not only made a hate speech, but also refused to apologise for his remarks.
It further urged the CJI to take note of Stalin’s hate speech in terms of the recent order passed by the Supreme Court in Shaheen Abdulla vs Union of India case, wherein the Apex Court directed the governments and police authorities to take suo motu action in such cases without waiting for the lodging of formal complaints.
Showing their strong resentment to the remarks made by Stalin, the 262 distinguished citizens of the country said the remarks undeniably amounted to ‘hate speech’ against a large population of India and strikes at the very core of the Constitution of India, which envisaged Bharat as a secular nation.
The petitioners sought action against the DMK leader in order to preserve the secular character of the country, stating that any delay on part of the administration in taking action on such a serious issue would invite the court’s contempt.
Noting that the government of Tamil Nadu refused to take action against the DMK leader, the petitioners alleged that the State had acted in contempt of the Court’s orders and had ‘gravely undermined’ or rather made a ‘mockery’ of the rule of law.
The letter petition requested the Supreme Court to issue a suo motu notice of contempt against the Tamil Nadu government, ensuring its accountability for the inaction. It further urged the Apex Court to take decisive steps for the prevention of hate speech and to preserve the public order and peace in the state as well as the country.
The petitioners prayed for ‘thoughtful consideration’ of their plea and immediate measures to ensure justice and rule of law prevailed in the country.
During his address in a meeting of the Tamil Nadu Progressive Writers and Artists Association in Chennai on Saturday, DMK leader Udhayanidhi Stalin had likened Sanatan Dharma to coronavirus, malaria and dengue and said that such things should not be opposed but destroyed.