SC slams Nupur Sharma over controversial remarks, Nupur Sharma, a spokesperson for the BJP, was suspended on Friday for making salacious remarks about the Prophet Mohammed on television. The Supreme Court ruled that Sharma “is solely responsible for what is happening in the country” and that she “must apologise to the public.”
The comments were made by Justice Surya Kant, who was preside over a two-judge vacation bench, during the hearing of Sharma’s request 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,” Justice Surya Kant remarked as senior advocate Maninder Singh pointed out that she was facing threats to life.
Singh said Nupur Sharma had tendered a written apology, but Justice Kant remarked that “she was too late to withdraw” and added it was done “conditionally, saying sentiments hurt”.
“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 apologised to the nation”, the judge said.
Referring to her approaching the Supreme Court directly, the judge said “the petition smacks of her arrogance, that the Magistrates of the country are too small for her”. “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. Sharma had made the remarks during a debate on the Gyanvapi mosque issue on May 27.
Justice Kant criticised the TV debate and questioned why it chose a legal matter as its subject. “Why was there a TV debate? A fan-only agenda only? Why did they pick a subject that was up for debate? When it was brought up that the comments were made in response to a query from the anchor, the judge declared that the host should have been held accountable.
Singh emphasised that no such purpose existed. “It was repeatedly said that the shivling was nothing more than a fawarra or a fountain. This was stated by the opposing debater, not the anchor. “If this is the attitude, then every citizen will have no right to speak,” the senior attorney continued.
The Delhi Police’s response to the incident was also criticised by the court, which questioned “what has Delhi Police done? Do not force us to speak.
In the end, Sharma was denied remedy by the Supreme Court. “No Mr. Singh, the conscience of the court is not satisfied,” Justice Kant remarked to Nupur Sharma’s attorney. The law needs to be adjusted accordingly.
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