Supreme Court asks UP govt why Yogi Adityanath should not be prosecuted for alleged hate speech in 2007

The Supreme Court on Monday issued a notice to the Uttar Pradesh government in connection with an alleged hate speech delivered by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in 2007. A Supreme Court bench comprising Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra asked the government to reply as to why he should not be prosecuted for allegedly giving a hate speech in 2007, according to ANI. [caption id=“attachment_4425643” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File image of Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath. Reuters[/caption] The bench issued the notice while hearing a plea challenging Allahabad High Court’s decision in the case, according to India Today. The Allahabad High Court on February dismissed a writ petition which sought a CBI probe into Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath’s involvement in 2007 Gorakhpur riots case In November 2008, the petition was filed by Mohammad Asad Hayat and Parvez, who said a hate speech by the chief minister had triggered the riots in which one person was killed. Parwaz was a resident of Gorakhpur and had filed an FIR in connection with the riots and Hayat was a witness in the case. In January 2007, an altercation involving a group of Hindus and Muslims broke out during a Muharram procession in Gorakhpur which led to the hospitalisation of a young Hindu, Raj Kumar Agrahari. The district magistrate had made it clear that Adityanath should not visit the site as it may incite tensions. He initially agreed but after Agrahari died, he disobeyed the magistrate and travelled to the site with a group of his followers. Adityanath then started a non-violent dharna on the site. However, inflammatory speeches were made and some of his followers even set fire to a nearby mazar (Muslim mausoleum). Curfew was imposed by the local police, but Adityanath broke it and was subsequently jailed. His arrest led to further unrest and several coaches of the Mumbai-bound Mumbai-Gorakhpur Godan Express were burnt, allegedly by protesting Hindu Yuva Vahini activists. The tensions escalated to riots across  Gorakhpur  leading to the burning of mosques, homes, buses and trains.