Supreme Court on Tuesday expressed willingness to issue directions to curb dissemination of “insulting” jokes against Sikhs through public modes like internet and SMS, but said the key concern was the enforcement of such directives.
“We are not saying that there should not any guideline on the issue, but the question remains as to how these directions will be enforced,” a bench comprising Chief Justice T S Thakur and Justices C Nagappan and A M Khanwilkar said.
The comments or jokes may be “humiliating and denigrating” to the community, the issue is how to enforce any such direction, the bench observed.
It asked lawyers and Sikh bodies like Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), Amritsar, Delhi Sikh Gurudwara Management Committee (DSGMC), Sikh Gurudwara Management Committee from Haryana and Gurudwara Management Committee from Patna Sahib in Bihar to mull over the issue after perusing various reports and materials and come out with their suggestions.
“We can pass orders to stop commercial exploitation of such jokes and materials,” it said, adding that in private arena, it will be difficult to contain such acts.
“People from Northeast and South also face such kind of harassment and discrimination,” the bench observed, adding “even if you are a Kannadiga or a Telugu or a Malayalee, people still call you a Madrasi. This is very insulting”.
The bench then deferred the hearing on the PIL by four weeks and sought suggestions about the possible directions on such practices and ways to enforce them.
Earlier, the court had asked organisations representing the Sikh community to make a united effort in their endeavour to ban jokes on them, rather than being divided in giving suggestions and evolving mechanisms to curb such activity.
“You should be united in the effort rather than divided,” it had said while hearing a batch of petitions seeking ban on circulation of jokes on Sikhs.
