Nupur Sharma, a spokesperson for the BJP, was suspended on Friday for making inappropriate remarks about the Prophet Mohammed on television. The Supreme Court decided that Sharma “is single-handedly responsible for what is happening in the country” and that “she must apologize to the country”.
The comments were made by Justice Surya Kant, who was presiding over a two-judge vacation bench, during the hearing of Sharma’s appeal to combine the many FIRs that had been lodged against her across various states due to the remarks.
“She has threat or she has become security threat? The way she has ignited emotions across the country… this lady is single-handedly responsible for what is happening in the country,” Judge Surya Kant remarked as senior attorney Maninder Singh highlighted that she was under threat of death.
However, Justice Kant commented that “she was too late to withdraw” and added that it was done “conditionally, saying sentiments hurt.” Singh claimed that she had submitted a formal apology.
“We saw the debate on how she was incited. But the way she said all this and later says she is a lawyer, it is shameful… She should have gone to the TV and apologized to the nation”, the judge said.
The court stated that her plea “smacks of her arrogance, that the Magistrates of the country are too small for her,” in reference to her directly contacting the Supreme Court. “What if she is the spokesperson of a party. She thinks she has back-up power and (can) make any statement without respect to the law of the land,” said Justice Kant. On May 27, during a conversation about the Gyanvapi mosque issue, Sharma made the comments.
Justice Kant condemned the TV debate and questioned why it chose a legal matter as its subject.
“What was the TV debate for? Only to fan agenda? Why did they choose a sub-judice topic,” he asked.
The judge stated that it should have been a case against the host in that case when it was brought out that the comments were made in answer to a question posed by the anchor.
Singh made it clear that such an objective didn’t exist.
“It was again and again said that the shivling was just a fountain or a fawarra. This was said by the debater on the other side and not the anchor”. The senior counsel added that “if this is the position then every citizen will have no right to speak”.
In this case, the Delhi Police’s response was criticized by the court, which challenged what they had done.
In the end, Sharma was denied justice by the Supreme Court.
Justice Kant told Nupur Sharma’s counsel, “No Mr Singh, the conscience of the court is not satisfied. We must mould the law accordingly”.
