Against the backdrop of increasing instances of hate speech and inaction on the part of authorities, the Supreme Court bench comprising Justices KM Joseph and Hrishikesh Roy directed the governments of NCT of Delhi, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh to file a report before the Court in this regard. It also directed the police to take suo motu action against hate speech without waiting for any complaint. The court even went on to say that any 'hesitation' on this front would be considered as 'contempt of court'. The Supreme Court's intervention is indeed welcome. However, it also shows the level of rot we have acquired over the past few years. The directions issued by the apex court may be celebrated by some but, in essence, these are alarm bells that we all must pay heed to, urgently. Justice Hrishikesh Roy termed the recent hate speeches to be "very shocking" in a religion-neutral country like India. Citing article 51A of the Indian Constitution which directs to develop scientific temper, Justice KM Joseph raised a serious question, "where have we reached in the name of religion?" This question has a broader reflection, which raises doubts over one of the Indian republic's basic tenets — secularism. It is true that secularism is interpreted in multiple ways but the type of outrightly crude hate speeches targeted towards a particular religious minority, backed by state inaction, is a sure threat to the principle of secularism. In addition to secularism, the apex court highlighted the violation of yet another foundational principle inscribed in the Preamble of Indian Constitution — fraternity. It observed that there "cannot be fraternity unless members of the community drawn from different religions or castes are able to live in harmony." It is unfortunate that the highest judicial body of the country is forced to preach the most basic and obvious aspects of the Indian Constitution. Apart from violating the basic principles of the Indian Constitution, these speeches, in most certain ways, mock the laws of the land. There have been straightforwardly blunt calls for genocide, followed by a fair degree of impunity for the hate peddlers. It is needless to point out that such sorts of actions are not allowed under Indian laws. There is no dearth of laws and Supreme Court judgements that mandate the registration of FIRs in cases of hate crimes. As late as in 2018, the Tehseen Poonawalla judgment mandated the police to register an FIR against the people who disseminate irresponsible and explosive messages with content which may incite mob violence. The 267th Law Commission Report had also suggested making hate speech a criminal offence under the Indian Penal Code (IPC). Inaction or inappropriate action by the police defies these legal landmarks. Despite the wordings of the Supreme Court directions being unambiguous, not much can be said about the potential positive impacts. While the Supreme Court has tried to fix things on the legal side where lapses were almost obvious, the larger social and political triggers still remain unaddressed. Hate peddlers mostly enjoy political patronage, and are even alleged to be part of a particular political agenda. Their growing assertive rigour as well as police's inaction are more a result of this political linkage than legal lapses. Since politics and society share permeable boundaries, narratives from one landscape sip into the other. Politics and society draw from each other. As a result, Indian society has also undergone massive changes over the past decade. In order to ensure that this larger loop is broken, and laws are not used in a biased manner, a lot of hammering is required. The Supreme Court has done the right thing by trying to fix things on the legal side. Political parties, particularly those in power, need to distance themselves from such tactics that bring political gains at the cost of harming the national fabric. No less important is the role of the people of India. It is time we stand up, and for each instance of hate peddling, exhibit our mutual love in double proportions. If this is ensured, laws and politics will be forced to reshape themselves.