Supreme Court Tells Petitioner: Follow Law, Don't Rush to Us on Prophet Remarks

The Supreme Court on Monday declined to entertain an oral plea seeking direct cognisance of alleged derogatory remarks against Prophet Muhammad made by a BJP Minority Morcha leader. A Vacation Bench of Justices Ahsanuddin Amanullah and Sheel Nagu said it would not allow the standard legal procedure to be bypassed.

Addressing the counsel who made the oral mentioning, Justice Amanullah said the issue was very grave, but the procedure of filing a complaint with the police first, followed by due investigation, must be strictly followed. Parties cannot approach the Supreme Court as the first port of call.

The Bench criticised the rising tendency to bypass due procedure laid out by the law. The counsel argued that the remarks may disturb communal harmony across the country. In response, Justice Amanullah asked, “So you file a PIL? Why come here? Have you filed a complaint with the police? Why don’t you have faith in the system?”

Justice Amanullah emphasised that the Supreme Court is also part of the system. “We are only at its apex. We are here to monitor,” the judge said. The Bench warned that if every litigant chose to sideline the police and lower courts, the entire system would become chaotic.

“If a litigant starts short-circuiting the system, the other functionaries would simply raise their hands and do nothing. If you go to them and give them a chance to act or decide on your complaint, it would be an eye-opener for us, and we would also be able to see if these functionaries are working or not,” Justice Amanullah said.

The apex court also urged lawyers not to sensationalise sensitive cases. “To all counsel, we would like to say, you are a citizen of India. You know the law. You know the ramifications. Do not sensationalise these things,” Justice Amanullah said.