Plea In Madhya Pradesh High Court Seeks FIR Against Two Hindi Dailies For Alleged Communal Coverage Of Bhopal Rape Case

The plea filed through advocate Deepak Bundele alleges that through the news published and broadcasted by the aforesaid newspapers, an attempt has been made to hold all Muslims responsible for the Bhopal rape case by linking the religion to the rape of the girl students of a Bhopal-based College.

The plea states that the incident of rape and filming videos of the act of girl students of the Bhopal-based college is a sensitive matter and should be seen as a crime and efforts should be made to give appropriate punishment to the culprits as per law. However, it claims that, Dainik Bhaskar and Navdunia newspapers have been using words like 'love jihad' in the context of crime in their articles, which neither has any legal definition nor is contained in any law.

Broadcasting and propagating the term 'Love Jihad' in context of a crime has resulted in all Muslims being targeted, it claims. 

The plea further alleges that Navdunia and Dainik Bhaskar newspapers are playing with the religious beliefs of the applicant, which is a violation of Article 14 (Equality before Law), Article 15 (Prohibition of discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth), Article 19 (Protection of certain rights regarding freedom of speech, etc.), Article 21(Protection of life and personal liberty) and 25 (Freedom of conscience and free profession, practice and propagation of religion) of the Fundamental Rights of the Constitution of India.

The plea also states that by publishing fabricated news against Islam and distorting the term 'Jihad' and writing it as 'Love Jihad', Dainik Bhaskar and Navdunia are trying to break the unity and integrity of the country and trying to spread hatred in the country.

As per the plea, Respondent No. 5 – Navdunia had published a headline “Kerala Story Pattern of Love Jihad…” which has hurt the religious sentiments of those who believe in Islam and secular values. The plea clarifies that 'Jihad' in Quran means justice, peace and to gain approval of Allah. By mentioning the term 'Love Jihad' in its articles, the respondents have portrayed all Muslims as guilty for the crime committed by some anti-social elements.

Thus, through the petition, the petitioner prayed before the Court to pass an order for registration of criminal case against the aforesaid media houses for hurting religious sentiments of Muslims and for spreading hatred between Hindus and Muslims.

The plea further prays for issuance of strict guidelines against the misleading news and false information being served to the public through newspapers and news channels against Muslims and Islam so as to strengthen the spirit of secularism.

The matter is tentatively listed for June 19.