ASG Undertakes Before SC To File Fresh Affidavit On Suresh Chavhanke's Speech In Delhi

The Additional Solicitor General K.M. Nataraj today undertook before to file a fresh affidavit of the Delhi Police with respect to the alleged hate speech by Sudarshan News TV Chief Editor Suresh Chavhanke in Delhi.

Esha Pandey IPS, Deputy Commissioner of Police, South East Delhi and filed an affidavit stating that the speech was about empowering one's own religion and that the words as alleged by the petitioner were not used by the speaker.

Today, the Bench of Justice A. M. Khanwilkar and Justice Abhay S. Oka was not happy with the Affidavit after Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal attacked the stand of the Delhi Police in the Affidavit where it had said that the persons were gathered "with the motive to save the ethics of their community".

Sibal argued that the Police's stand is with respect to a speech where they said, "they are ready to kill".

The Bench then asked who is appearing for Delhi Police. ASG Nataraj said that he is appearing for the Police. The Court then asked, "Is this the stand of the Deputy Commissioner. We hope he has understood the nuances. Has he merely reproduced the inquiry report. Do you want to relook at that?". The Court also asks if such a stand can be taken in an affidavit and whether the affidavit was vetted by a senior official.

ASG Natraj replied, "We will have a relook and file a fresh affidavit".

Accordingly, the Bench granted two weeks' time to file the fresh affidavit and said that the matter will be listed on May 9.

The PIL was filed by journalist Qurban Ali and Senior Advocate Anjana Prakash Desai (former Patna High Court judge).

The Police had said in its affidavit, "the findings of the inquiry after visual and audio examination of the evidence further disclose that the speech did not contain any hate words against a particular community and the persons who gathered were there with the motive to save the ethics of their community."