SC DECLINES STAY ON JITENDRA TYAGI'S CASES, CONSIDERS PLEA TO CLUB HATE SPEECH FIRs

The Supreme Court of India, on March 28, declined to stay the criminal proceedings initiated against Jitendra Narayan Tyagi (formerly known as Wasim Rizvi), the former Chairman of the Uttar Pradesh Shia Wakf Board, in connection with multiple hate speech cases filed against him. The Court also refused to grant protection to Tyagi in one of the cases registered in Srinagar, where the trial court had issued a non-bailable warrant (NBW) for his arrest. The trial court further directed the Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) to constitute a Special Task Force (STF) to ensure the execution of the warrant and secure Tyagi's arrest.

However, the Supreme Court agreed to consider Tyagi's plea seeking the clubbing of all the criminal cases filed against him at a single location. The Court issued a notice on his writ petition, indicating its willingness to examine whether the multiple cases arising out of the same alleged offence could be consolidated for trial.

A bench comprising Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Sandeep Mehta was hearing a writ petition filed by Jitendra Tyagi, formerly known as Wasim Rizvi, who is a former member and Chairman of the Shia Central Wakf Board of Uttar Pradesh. Tyagi sought to club multiple criminal cases filed against him in connection with alleged hate speeches delivered at the Dharm Sansad events held in Haridwar and Lucknow in 2021. In his plea, he requested the consolidation of the various FIRs and criminal proceedings into a single jurisdiction to avoid multiple trials.

In addition to the writ petition, the bench was also considering Tyagi's application seeking a stay on the ongoing criminal proceedings against him in both the Srinagar and Haridwar courts. Furthermore, he sought bail in the Srinagar matter, where a non-bailable warrant had been issued against him, and the Special Task Force had been directed to execute his arrest.

Notably, Jitendra Tyagi is facing a total of four criminal cases related to alleged hate speeches. Three of these cases pertain to his statements made during the Dharm Sansad event held in Haridwar, while the fourth case, registered in Srinagar, stems from his alleged remarks against the Muslim community in Lucknow. These statements were reportedly broadcast on television channels on December 7, 2021. So far, all these cases have been proceeding independently, with no consolidation of trials.

During the hearing, the petitioner's counsel, Advocate-on-Record (AOR) Anurag Kishore, made an appeal to the bench for protection, highlighting that Tyagi was facing threats to his life and personal liberty. The petitioner claimed that he was completely unaware of the proceedings in the Srinagar complaint case until the last week of February 2025. It was only through news channels that he learned the Srinagar trial court had issued an order directing the formation of a Special Task Force to arrest him. This sudden development, the petitioner argued, had left him vulnerable and at risk.

While the Supreme Court appeared inclined to dismiss Jitendra Tyagi's petition, the bench, upon the request of his counsel, agreed to issue a notice, making it returnable in four weeks. This granted Tyagi a temporary reprieve, allowing the Court to further examine his plea seeking the consolidation of multiple criminal cases filed against him.

It is noteworthy that in September 2022, the Supreme Court had granted Tyagi bail in connection with the alleged hate speeches delivered at the Dharm Sansad event. During that hearing, the Court had also issued a notice on his writ petition, wherein he sought the clubbing of subsequent FIRs related to the same incident. However, this petition did not cover the criminal complaint lodged in Srinagar, which emerged later as a separate matter.

Jitendra Tyagi, formerly known as Wasim Rizvi, previously served as the Chairman of the Uttar Pradesh Shia Waqf Board. In December of the previous year, he publicly converted to Hinduism and adopted the name Jitendra Narayan Singh Tyagi, renouncing his former religious identity.