The government has notified the Supreme Court that nodal officers have been appointed by 28 States and Union Territories in accordance with its directives to stop lynchings and mob violence in the wake of hate speech events. A status report on a number of petitions asking for guidelines to stop or limit hate speech has been submitted by the Ministry of Home Affairs.
As stated in the Center’s status report to the Supreme Court, the following states have reported to the Center that they have designated nodal officers: Andhra Pradesh, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Goa, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Jharkhand, Karnataka, UT of Ladakh, Lakshadweep, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Odisha, Puducherry, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Telangana, Tripura, Uttarakhand.
By decision dated August 25, 2023, the Supreme Court requested answers from the state government regarding their adherence to the 2018 guidelines mandating the creation of district-level nodal officers by the States, during its hearing of petitions seeking actions to prevent hate crimes.
In order to regulate and stop the rising number of hate crimes, like as lynchings and mob violence, the Supreme Court released a series of instructions in 2018 for the federal government and state governments.
Fast-tracked trials, victim restitution, deterrent punishment, and disciplinary action against incompetent law enforcement officials were among the guidelines. The Supreme Court had declared that hate crimes, cow vigilantism, and lynching instances were to be stopped as soon as possible.
