SC to consider banning circulation of videos related to “Love Jihad”

New Delhi: Supreme Court of India is considering banning all videos related to “Love Jihad” and “Communal hatred” which are being spread on social media.

According to the report published in India Today, after the petition filed by Ms. Indira Jaising, Senior Advocate, the SC decided to consider whether it can issue a direction to Union and State Governments in this regard.

It may be mentioned that earlier, a resident of Rajasthan, Shambhulal Regar assassinated Mohammed Afrazul and burnt his body for allegedly falling in love with a non-Muslim woman. He also shot the video of the act.

Ms. Jaising is representing the wife of the victim, Gulbahar.

It may be mentioned that quite often, right-wing ideologues use the term “Love Jihad” to claim that Muslim men convert Hindu women under the pretext of love.

Later, video of the heinous crime went viral in which the assailant justified his crime. The culprit threatened that anyone who indulges in “Love Jihad” will have to meet the same fate.

On the last Tuesday, Ms. Jaising had filed the petition which is likely to be listed for hearing soon.

It is also reported that in her petition, she pleaded the court, “Pass a writ in the nature of mandamus(order it to perform a duty) directing both the central government and state governments to take immediate steps in removing or cause to be removed the video of the incident of 6th December 2017 which is circulating on several or other content relating to the communal myth of love jihad and communal hatred that is currently being spread through various websites and on other social media platforms; and/or such hate crimes like the reprehensible murder of the husband of petitioner,”

In the petition, she also said she was aggrieved by the barbaric killing of Afrazul. She also expressed her concern about the circulation of a video of the heinous crime on social media.

It may be noted that she filed a petition in Supreme Court under Article 32 of the Indian Constitution in which she also alleged that such videos encourage violence against a community and disturb communal harmony.

Gulbahar had appealed to the apex court to conduct an impartial inquiry by an independent national agency.