Supreme Court of India: No need for new
laws—strict enforcement of existing laws is key to tackling hate speech and
hate crimes
¨ Supreme Court of India
observed that stricter enforcement of existing laws is more important than
creating new laws to tackle hate speech and hate crimes.
¨
The Court stated that
such offences disturb social harmony due to weak implementation, not because of
a lack of legal provisions.
¨ These remarks were made
while examining issues related to hate speech, rumour-mongering, and communal
violence.
The Bench included
¨
Justice Vikram Nath
¨
Justice Sandeep Mehta
The Court emphasized that India already has sufficient
legal provisions, especially under the Indian Penal Code, to deal with such
offences.
Key issues identified
¨
Weak enforcement of laws
¨ Delay in registration of cases
¨ Lack of accountability
