New Delhi: The Bombay high court has permitted a Hindu organisation to organise a “Viraat Hindu Sant Sammelan” which will felicitate 2008 Malegaon blast accused and former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Pragya Thakur with the “Hindu Veer Puraskar”.
In its order, the court cited the principle of “live and let live” and said that after 78 years of independence, the Indian population is “sufficiently” wise and educated to understand what to speak and what not to do.
The court on Friday (March 28) allowed the Hindu Sakal Samaj to go ahead with the event to be organised in Malegaon in Nashik district on March 30, while the Maharashtra state government had opposed the event citing the recent communal violence in Nagpur, LiveLaw reported.
The state government opposed the event and said that the speakers are prone to delivering “inflammatory speeches” and also pointed to March 31 when Eid is to be celebrated.
However, the court in its 11-page order said that India has celebrated 78 years of independence and is emerging as a key global player in various domains including technology and space exploration to economic growth and diplomacy. It also said that as the fifth largest economy, India is “solidifying its position as a crucial driver of global development.”
“We are of the view that people should act responsibly showing wisdom and patriotism and allow people to profess their religion, customs and worship. Wisdom comes from understanding and harmony arises when we embrace that understanding with kindness and compassion. ‘Live and let live’ should be the hallmark of our character. True peace is found not in mere knowledge, but in the balance of the mind, heart and soul,” the court said.
The order said that after 78 years of independence the court has “every reason to believe that the population of this country is sufficiently educated and wise to understand the self imposed limitations on what to speak and what not to.”
‘The speakers are prone to making inflammatory speeches’
The court allowed the event to take place even as the state government had opposed it and said that “the Speakers are prone to making inflammatory speeches which are likely to hurt the feelings and sentiments of people belonging to different religions.”
“It is also mentioned that the person who is to be honoured in the said gathering, namely, Sadhvi Pradnyasingh Thakur, is an Accused in the bomb blasts that took place in Malegaon in 2008. Considering the present situation at Nagpur and the burial ground of Aurangzeb, the law and order situation is likely to be seriously affected by such congregation,” the order copy said referring to the state government’s submission.
The court, while allowing the event to take place, noted that after the 2008 blasts there have been no communal incidents in the last 17 years and accepted the undertaking given by the organisers of the event that none of the speakers would deliver any inflammatory speeches.
“Such undertaking would not only bind the organising committee, but also the speakers who will be equally accountable. The Managing Committee of the organizer would be bound by the assurance given to the Court and the undertaking of expressing their thoughts and views without hurting any person who professes any other religion,” the order said.
Last April, a court of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in Mumbai said that Pragya Thakur’s absence was “hampering” court proceedings in the Malegaon blasts case and asked the NIA to verify her health condition amid continued absence from court appearances.
Six people were killed and 100 injured when an explosive device strapped to a motorcycle went off near a mosque in Malegaon in northern Maharashtra in September 2008.
Thakur spent nine years in jail in the case before being granted bail in 2017.
