New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday, February 23, dismissed a petition accusing states of non-compliance with the Tehseen Poonawala guidelines issued in a 2018 judgement that sought to curb mob lynchings and hate crimes in India, Live Law reported.
A bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi was hearing the contempt petition filed by Kerala’s Sunni Muslim scholarly body, Samastha Kerala Jamiat-ul-Ulema.
The CJI noted that the top court should be “very careful” in issuing “unmanageable directions,” adding that the Tehseen Poonawalla guidelines were general in nature. CJI Kant instead redirected the petitioners, saying such a contempt plea applies when an individual’s rights are compromised.
“Firstly, the court should be very careful in issuing directions that are unmanageable. In any case, if we issue directions, those are on general principles that we tell, we expect people to be aware of,” the bench observed.
The CJI emphasised that the contempt petition can be filed in relation to individual cases, based on specific facts.
In the Tehseen Poonawala case against the Union of India, the apex court had ordered Parliament to consider the need for a law on mob lynching. The court had also issued a list of preventive measures to stop hate speeches and mob lynchings. In the guidelines, the state governments were mandated to establish special task forces to probe crimes of mob lynching, along with the spread of hate speeches, misleading news and provocative statements.
The court rejected the contempt plea while giving petitioners the liberty to avail other legal options.
