The petition to ban Sardar jokes online got the backing of the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC) on Thursday which joined the chorus in Supreme Court to put an end to such jokes that demean and insult the community.
The apex bench of Chief Justice TS Thakur and Justice UU lalit directed the petition to be listed along with two other petitions filed by lawyer Harvinder Chaudhary and the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC), expected to be taken up on April 5.
During the hearing, the bench asked advocate Satinder Singh Gulati, appearing for SGPC, to suggest areas in which the Court can pass orders. The Court assured that if such jokes are being commercially exploited, it will certainly pass orders to stop circulation of the jokes on internet.
Gulati told the Court that SGPC has been pursuing with this subject and had even complained against the publication and circulation of jokes on Sardars in the past giving an impression that Sikhs are stupid. He said, “A stereotype has been created and Sikhs are being discriminated in society because of a particular language and religion.” In this regard, SGPC even wrote to Khushwant Singh, whose jokes on Sardars were widely read and circulated, pointing out the community’s displeasure over his work.
Earlier, the plea by DSGMC had sought direction to Telecom Ministry to filter websites which targeted the Sikh community on the ground of being violative of Sections 153A and 153B of the IPC relating to promoting enmity between different religious groups.