India, Feb. 18 -- The Supreme Court on Tuesday said it was open to examining the larger issues of hate speech and the constitutional morality that ought to guide political parties and their leaders, but made it clear that it would not entertain "selective targeting" or allow such concerns to descend into the "humdrum of politics".

A bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and justice BV Nagarathna and Joymalya Bagchi was hearing a batch of pleas filed jointly by 12 individuals, including former bureaucrats, academicians and civil society members, seeking guidelines to regulate public speeches by constitutional functionaries in the backdrop of alleged hate remarks by Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.

Senior advocate Ka...