The Supreme Court has issued notice to the States of Jammu & Kashmir and Uttarakhand on a petition filed by former chairman of Uttar Pradesh Shia Central Waqf Board Jitendra Narayan Tyagi aka Wasim Rizvi seeking clubbing of multiple FIRs registered against him in connection with an alleged hate speech.
The Bench of Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Sandeep Mehta on Friday directed the governments to file a reply within four weeks on the matter.
Appearing for Tyagi, Advocate Anurag Kishore requested the Bench to provide interim protection to him, citing a threat to his life.
The top court of the country, however, rejected Tyagi’s request on the grounds that threats existed everywhere.
Tyagi approached the Apex Court after a local court in Srinagar district of Jammu and Kashmir issued summons to him in February 2025 on a private complaint accusing him of insulting Islam and the teachings of Prophet Muhammad.
The petitioner further sought consolidation of all cases filed against him.
A First Information Report (FIR) was lodged against Tyagi after he released his book Muhammad at the Haridwar Press Club in June 2021, which allegedly contained defamatory statements against Prophet Muhammad.
A complaint was filed before the Chief Judicial Magistrate in Srinagar, Jammu & Kashmir, regarding statements he made in Lucknow that were broadcast on TV in July 2021. The complainant claimed these remarks were offensive to the Muslim community.
Another FIR was lodged in December 2021 at Kotwali Haridwar, Uttarakhand, accusing Tyagi of making derogatory statements about Islam while participating in a religious gathering (Dharma Sansad) held from December 17 to 19 in North Haridwar.
A third FIR was registered against him in January 2022 based on similar allegations.
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