Jamia shooter denied bail
GURUGRAM: A Gurugram court dismissed bail plea of Gopal Sharma arrested for making communal speeches during a Mahapanchayat in Pataudi. Incidentally, 19-year-old Sharma had fired a pistol at a group of anti-CAA protesters at Jamia Millia Islamia in 2020 that left one person injured.
Judicial magistrate Mohamad Sageer made scathing observations and came down heavily on law enforcement officials for not acting sternly against people who were deliberately spoiling the communal harmony for their vested interests. Stating that the conscience of the court was hurt and shocked from the comments made by the teenager, the order mentioned that hate speech had become a fashion and how people making these comments were emboldened by the fact that they would face no action from police who in such cases appeared helpless. The court order also warned that incidents of hate speech should not be seen as a one-off incident but rather a situation which if allowed to fester can lead to dangerous and more serious consequences. "If such people are allowed to move freely and be given the freedom to indulge in such kind of activities, the very existence of communal harmony may be disturbed and that will give a wrong message that these types of acts are acceptable in the society, "stated the order.
The court also did not hesitate in mentioning that how inaction against hate speeches could prove to be more detrimental than even a lackadaisical attitude towards COVID-19 pandemic.
The order stated, "The pandemic will take the life of any person without seeing the religion or caste only upon negligence of people. Any communal violence caused by such hate speeches will lead to loss of innocent lives on the basis of religion and without any negligence on innocent people."
The court observed that escaping a stern action after the shooting incident near Jamia on pretext of being a minor made the accused overconfident that he could escape everyone if he commits such kinds of acts.
Taking cue from this, Judicial Magistrate stated that, "There is every possibility that a situation may arise again and the accused may again indulge in such unconstitutional and illegal activities that disturb the peace and communal harmony of the society."
On July 4, at a Hindu Mahapanchayat organised in Pataudi, the teenage Jamia shooter made several provocative remarks, excerpts of which are now being widely circulated on social media. The Gurugram Police arrested the accused under Sections 153-A (promoting enmity on grounds of religion, race, place of birth) and 295-A (deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings by insulting its religious beliefs) of the Indian Penal Code on July 12.
