The police told the Delhi High Court on February 27 that they have decided not to file an FIR against anyone making inflammatory hate speeches.
The decision comes a day after the Delhi High Court asked the city's police to take a "conscious decision" on filing an First Information Report (FIR) against those who are giving out inflammatory speeches.
The police told the court that filing an FIR "won't help in restoring peace and normalcy" in the national capital, news agency ANI reported.
A bench of Chief Justice D N Patel and Justice C Hari Shankar granted four weeks to the Centre and the police to file their replies to the PIL seeking lodging of FIRs against alleged hate speeches by three BJP leaders.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told the bench that as the Centre is responsible for maintaining law and order in Delhi, it be made a party in the matter, which was allowed by the court.
The police, which has been criticised for its alleged inaction to contain the violence in Delhi's northeast region, also said that they have filed 48 FIRs in cases related to riots in the region.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who was representing Delhi Police, said that the petitioner, in his wisdom, selected three speeches but reasoned that there are "many such hate speeches". The SG also urged the court that there be no hurried intervention till normalcy is restored in northeast Delhi, news agency PTI has reported.
The violence in Delhi has so far killed 34 people and injured more than 200. On February 26, Justice S Muralidhar had told the police to lodge FIRs against those giving out hate speeches after the court pursued video clips of four BJP leaders, including Kapil Mishra, Anurag Thakur and Parvesh Verma.
"You showed alacrity in lodging FIRs for arson, why aren't you showing the same for registering FIR for these speeches," Justice S Muralidhar had said while hearing petitions on the violence that has rocked the national capital in the last couple of days.
Justice Muralidhar was transferred to the Punjab and Haryana High Court on February 26 night, days after the Supreme Court collegium made the recommendation.
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