Plea filed in SC for arrest of Nupur Sharma over comments on Prophet Mohammed

A plea was filed in the Supreme Court on Wednesday, seeking directions for arrest of suspended BJP leader Nupur Sharma for her alleged vulgar remarks against Prophet Mohammed in a TV show on May 27.

A top court lawyer, Abu Sohel sought "independent, credible and impartial investigation" into the incident and comply with directions issued in Tehseen Poonawalla case (2018) related to preventive, remedial and punitive measures to be taken by the Centre, state governments and law enforcement agencies in such cases.

On Wednesday, a counsel mentioned the matter and sought urgent hearing.

A bench of Justices Indira Banerjee and J K Maheshwari, however, said the matter should be mentioned before the registrar for listing.

The petitioner claimed provocative and disrespectful statement by Nupur Sharma has created much uproar with Muslim community in the country and across the globe, which called for immediate arrest and strict action by the law enforcement agencies.

Claiming that there is no clarity in law on how to deal particularly with the hate crimes against any particular religion, the petitioner contended if immediate deterrent steps were not taken, it may lead to rise of unrest among the Muslim community.

The plea sought a direction from the top court under Article 142 of the Constitution for doing complete justice in the matter.

A number of FIRs, including by Delhi, Maharashtra and West Bengal police, has been filed against Nupur Sharma for her remarks.