Opinion: The Supreme Court's Scathing Criticism Of Nupur Sharma
NDTVJul 02, 2022
India's Supreme Court has stated that Nurpur Sharma, a former spokesperson for the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), must apologize for inflammatory comments made about Islam's Prophet Muhammad and his wife Aisha during a televised debate on May 26.
This comes as the Supreme Court on Fri. dismissed a request of her lawyer to consolidate several police complaints filed nationwide against her in Delhi.
Hate speech dividing communities has become a normal state of affairs in India, as is evident in Sharma's dangerous and explosive comments. She must be held responsible for the impact of her remarks on Indian society, and those in power should face accountability for fostering an environment where these comments could even be made in the first place.
The court's decision to put total blame on Sharma for horrendous incidents like the Udaipur beheading is somewhat harsh without any proper investigation or trial. While her comments were incendiary, a free and fair trial is necessary in order to protect people's faith in the rule of law, and the court's conclusion may even place a risk on Sharma's life.
There is a 55% chance that there will be a non-BJP Prime Minister of India before 2030, according to the Metaculus prediction community.