NEW DELHI:
The Supreme Court on Thursday asked the Union Ministry of of Home Affairs to request confirmation reports from Bihar, Haryana, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Odisha, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh on a plea accusing of attacks against the Christian community.
The apex court gave two months for the complete process that includes the registration of FIRs and arrests, the state of investigation, and charge sheets that were filed.
Sc Asks Mha To Seek Reports From 8 States On Plea Alleging Attacks On Christians-TeluguStop.com
A bench comprising Justices D.Y.Chandrachud and Hima Kohli stated that the court “can’t make an assessment regarding the credibility of claims in the plea (in the plea) that we have been given”.
The bench said it is better to confirm the allegations in the plea.in the plea.
Senior advocate Colin Gonsalves, representing the petitioner, claimed that 700 prayer gatherings of Christians were shut down and that violence was employed against them.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Centre said that the MHA upon verification discovered that a number of incidents, referred to in the plea as communal attacks were either exaggerated or false.
The Central government has informed the Supreme Court there is no basis in the claim of increasing violence against Christians in the country.
It was stated that such deceitful petitions can cause unrest across the country, may be to get help from outside, to interfere with the internal matters of the nation.
The MHA, in a written response, stated: “It is submitted that there is a hidden motive in the filing of these fraudulent petitions, causing unrest across the country and possibly receiving assistance from outside of the country to interfere with the internal matters of our country.”
The Ministry said that the petitioner had resorted to lies and self-serving documents , and reported on press reports, where Christian persecutions are either untrue or incorrectly depicted.
The MHA’s response was based on an appeal alleging a rise in the amount of attacks against Christian churches and priests across the nation and calling for the application of its policies to stop hate crimes.
The petitioners Rev.Peter Machado and others sought the implementation of the guidelines given by the apex courts in the 2017 Tehseen Poonawala judgement.
