New Delhi, February 16 The Uttar Pradesh government told the Supreme Court on Monday that a First Information Report (FIR) should have been registered in an alleged hate crime in Noida in 2021 for the offences, including those related to imputations and assertions prejudicial to national integration.
Additional Solicitor General K M Nataraj, appearing for Uttar Pradesh, told a bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta that an FIR should have been lodged in the case for the alleged offences, including under Section 153-B of the erstwhile Indian Penal Code (IPC).
Section 153-B deals with the offence of imputations and assertions prejudicial to national integration.
The top court on February 3 questioned the UP government as to why appropriate provisions of the IPC were not invoked in the FIR lodged in the alleged hate crime in 2021.
"Initially, they should have registered the FIR for (section) 153-B... They have not done so," Nataraj told the bench on Monday.
He said the chargesheet was already filed in the case.
Nataraj said one possible solution is that the state could file an application before the concerned court for further investigation in the case and seek a sanction from the government.
He said another solution could be a direction from the apex court to proceed further in the matter.
"It would be better if you do so. It will look better on your part," the bench said.
The counsel for the petitioner said the top court might give a direction in this regard.
The bench referred to the submissions made by Nataraj and said the authorities would proceed in the matter.
When the petitioner's counsel said the apex court could consider awarding compensation to the petitioner, the bench said, "As far as compensation is concerned, you will have to seek a remedy before the appropriate forum."
Nataraj said the state would move an application for further investigation in the case before the concerned court within a week.
The top court was hearing a plea seeking a fair investigation and trial on a complaint by a senior citizen who claimed that he was abused and tortured in an alleged hate crime in Noida in July 2021.
The petitioner's counsel had earlier argued that an FIR should have been registered for the alleged offences punishable under sections 153-B and 295-A of the IPC.
Section 295-A pertains to deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs.
The plea has also sought initiation of appropriate departmental or punitive proceedings against some police officers of Gautam Buddh Nagar district for allegedly failing to comply with the preventive and remedial measures as directed by the apex court in one of its earlier verdicts.
The petitioner claimed in his plea that he was a victim of a "dastardly hate crime" in Noida where he was "abused, tortured, and systematically stripped of his dignity" by a group of individuals on July 4, 2021.
Detailing the incident, the petitioner has said that he was attacked and derogatory words related to his "religious identity" were hurled at him.
The plea claimed that the petitioner was attacked because of "his beard and his apparent Muslim identity".