March 20 date set for hearing PIL on Qureshi

The Supreme Court on March 20 will hear a PIL seeking the arrest of Uttar Pradesh Minister for Haj and Minorities Welfare Haji Mohammed Yakub Qureshi for announcing a reward of Rs 51 crore to anyone who would kill the Danish cartoonist for lampooning the Prophet.

The petition moved by one Vijay Kumar Tiwary was mentioned before a bench headed by Justice B N Agarwal today. The court refused to give the matter any urgency and said it would be heard on March 20, which was the date fixed by the court registry.

Qureshi had at a rally in Meerut on February 17 announced the Rs 51 crore reward and also offered the ‘‘would-be killer’’ gold equivalent to the weight of the cartoonist. The statement invited widespread condemnation and a plea was filed in the Ghaziabad court.