NEW DELHI — The Supreme Court on Thursday closed a contempt plea filed by activist Tushar Gandhi against Delhi Police in connection with hate speeches made at a religious gathering in 2021, after noting that a charge sheet in the case was filed in a court in the capital.
Additional Solicitor General K.M. Nataraj, representing Delhi Police, submitted before a bench headed by Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud and Justice J.B. Pardiwala that the charge sheet, after investigations were concluded, was filed on April 4, before a metropolitan magistrate in the capital.
The bench said that it is not expedient in the interest of justice to continue with the present contempt petition against the backdrop that the charge sheet was filed.
On February 20, Nataraj had informed the apex court that the probe in the matter was at an advanced stage and a report will be filed shortly.
In January, Delhi Police told the Supreme Court that it was conducting a fair and an unbiased investigation into the alleged hate speech made at the Hindu Yuva Vahini gathering in December 2021.
The police also said that it had examined spokesperson of Delhi BJP, editor-in-chief of Sudarshan News, members of Hindu Yuva Vahini, among others.
It further said that the Forensic Science Laboratory was scheduled to compare in March Sudarshan News editor’s specimen voice sample with the video from YouTube.
Tushar Gandhi had moved the apex court alleging inaction by the Uttarakhand Police and the Delhi Police in alleged hate speech cases.
However, in November last year, the court had discharged the Uttarakhand government and its police chief from a list of parties to the contempt plea. — IANS
