Three people from Tamil Nadu have been arrested by the Madurai police in connection with issuing threats to the special bench judges of the Karnataka High Court, who dismissed the petitions seeking permission to wear hijab inside the classrooms. The accused belong to the the Tamil Nadu Thowheed Jamath (TNTJ) and have been identified as Covai Rahamathulla, Asan Bathshah and Habibullah. The arrests were made after multiple complaints against the accused in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. Police said that several persons have been booked in this connection. On Saturday, the Tamil Nadu police had registered First Information Reports (FIRs) against three people — including Rahamathulla — for allegedly making derogatory remarks against the High Court judges.
On March 15, a full-judge bench of the Karnataka High Court comprising Chief Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi and Justices Krishna S Dixit and JM Khazi dismissed all the student petitioners’ pleas against the ban on hijabs in educational institutions in the state. In a video shared by Indu Makkal Katchi, TMTJ leader Covai R Rahmatullah announced that if judges get killed over the hijab case verdict, then they themselves will be responsible for their death.In his speech, the accused mentions about a district judge in Jharkhand being mowed down last year while the latter was out on a morning walk. He even stated that people know where the Chief Justice of Karnataka goes to walk in the morning. On Sunday, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai announced that the three judges will be given 'Y' level security.
Tamil Nadu BJP Chief and former Karnataka cadre IPS officer K Annamalai, has written to the Chief Justice of the Madras High Court Justice MN Bhandari and demanded an inquiry.
In Karnataka, Vidhana Soudha police in Bengaluru have booked an FIR based on the complaint by advocate Sudha Katwa. In the complaint it is mentioned that there is death threat, criminal intimidation, use of abusive language and also breach of peace, as well as communal harmony, in the state.
The police have registered the FIR under IPC Sections 506 (1) (Punishment for criminal intimidation), 505 (1) (B) (Intent to cause fear in the public), 153 A (Promoting enmity between religious groups), 109 (Abetment of an offence) and 504 (Knowingly insulting or provoking another person to commit violence).
Meanwhile, advocate Umapathy has filed a representation with the Registrar General of the Karnataka High Court in this connection. The Advocate's Association Bengaluru has also condemned the development, and the police have stepped up security measures for the High Court judges.
With IANS inputs