Political parties, leaders must strive to foster fraternity in country: Supreme Court

Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for the petitioners—academic Roop Rekha Verma, former MP Mohammad Adeeb, activist Harsh Mander, Christian leader John Dayal, former Delhi lieutenant governor Najeeb Jung and others—said the situation is becoming toxic and something needs to be done.

“We need to do something. Only your lordships can do something. This is becoming very toxic,” he said, adding that the petition “is not qua any individual”.

When the court pointed out that it had speeches of only one individual, Sibal said he would delete the reference. He urged the court to consider the larger issue, to which the CJI pointed out that the Supreme Court’s January 2023 Constitution bench judgment in Kaushal Kishor vs State of Uttar Pradesh had already taken care of it.

Though Sibal tried to submit that the plea was not directed at any specific person, the CJI said the petitioners seem to have “chosen some individuals selectively, conveniently ignoring others”. He added, “This is not acceptable. They should be fair.”

Justice Nagarathna, who was part of the bench that decided the Kaushal Kishor case, said, “There has to be restraint on all sides. Political leaders must foster fraternity in the country. Suppose we lay down guidelines…who will follow it.”

Justice Bagchi also said that it was for the parties to follow guidelines already laid down. “From Kaushal Kishore to Amish Devgan, how many guidelines have we laid down? Responsibility lies with the political parties to implement as well,” he said.

Justice Nagarathna added, “Before the speech comes the thought. How can we control the thought?” She added that it was necessary to “erase thoughts which goes against the constitutional ethos.”

Sibal said that a fresh petition will be filed, following which the court adjourned the matter for two weeks.