The Nainital High Court on June 15, hearing a plea to prevent Hindu outfits from holding a mahapanchayat against love jihad in Uttarkashi, said it is the paramount duty of the State that law, order and peace is maintained and that there is no loss of life and property of any person.
The court has directed all respondents to take whatever steps necessary to fulfil this Constitutional obligation.
The local administration has imposed prohibitory orders in Purola town to prevent the gathering from taking place.
The Association for the Protection of Civil Rights moved the court after the Supreme Court earlier in the day refused to entertain its plea against the mahapanchayat, but allowed the petitioner to approach the HC or any other authority.
The administration has not given permission for the mahapanchayat.
Communal tension has been brewing in Purola and some other towns of Uttarkashi district after two men, one of them Muslim, allegedly tried to abduct a Hindu girl on May 26. The girl was rescued and the accused sent to judicial custody.
Local trade bodies and right-wing Hindu outfits have run a sustained campaign against what they call cases of love jihad in Purola and neighbouring towns, including Barkot, Chinyalisaur and Bhatwari.
‘Big conspiracy against Hindus’
Bajrang Dal president Anuj Walia said steps being taken to prevent the mahapanchayat are part of a big conspiracy against Hindus.
“The mahapanchayat was to be held peacefully. The administration is protecting jihadis,” Mr. Walia said, demanding the removal of Uttarkashi District Magistrate Abhishek Rohilla and Superintendent of Police Arpan Yaduvanshi.
“The administration is acting under the pressure of AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi,” he said.
Section 144 will not deter Hindu organisations from going ahead with the mahapanchayat which can be held anytime after June 19, he said.
Among other right-wing Hindu outfits that called for the mahapanchayat include the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Devbhoomi Raksha Abhiyan.
Love jihad is a term often used by right-wing activists to allege a ploy by Muslim men to lure Hindu women into marriages for religious conversion.
Muslim Seva Sangathan, an organisation fighting for the rights of Muslims, has also given a call for a mahapanchayat in Dehradun on June 18.
Muslim bodies like the Uttarakhand Waqf Board and State Haj committee have appealed to the Chief Minister to take stringent action against “anti-social” elements trying to derail peace in the hills and protect Muslims who have been living in Purola for generations.
(With PTI inputs)