Need to curb rising intolerance: Delhi court
Follow UsA Delhi Court said today "in a democratic set up like India is free to follow any political ideology, but it does not give him a right to force others to succumb to his mandate" while deposing a 2007 case in which four men were found guilty of assaulting their neighbour allegedly over political rivalry.
"The need of the hour is to curb such rising intolerance and to award a suitable and adequate sentence commensurate to the gravity of offence," the court said while adding such instances reflected a return to "the age of barbarism".
"A person in a democratic set up like India is free to follow any political ideology, but it does not give him a right to force others to succumb to his mandate," the judge observed while ordering the four men to three years of rigorous imprisonment.
"The case depicts a glaring example of rising intolerance among the natives of this city who, even on trivial issues involving their alleged political faiths, do not even hesitate in attacking their own neighbours with such fury that even if the other side loses life, that would hardly matter to them," the court said.
The court was hearing the 2007 case in which four accused hit a man named Raju who was their neighbour with sticks and swords in south Delhi's Tughlakabad area. The men not only beat up Raju but severely injured his son Nilesh who had to be taken to the AIIMS Trauma Centre.
They later lodged a complaint accusing the four men of being political workers of BJP MP Ramesh Bidhuri who is currently a Parliament member from Tughlakabad.
"Neighbours are considered to be more precious than the relatives because in the event of any emergency, it is the neighbours upon whom a person could fall back for assistance and not on the distant relatives," the court said.
"However, with rise of materialistic society, somehow, we are deviating from our ancient culture, ethics, and moralities and are returning to the age of barbarism as was prevalent in the primitive society," the court said while ordering the men to be sent to jail.