New Delhi, Feb. 17 -- After about five years and a nudge from the Supreme Court, the Uttar Pradesh government has agreed to invoke hate crime offences against the accused in a 2021 case where a Delhi man was tortured, abused and humiliated over his Muslim identity. A bench of justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta noted this submission made by the state almost two weeks after it had asked them to indicate whether it would register the case under hate crime provisions. Additional solicitor general (ASG) KM Nataraj, appearing for the state government, informed the court that upon examination, the state believes that sections 153B (imputations and assertions prejudicial to national integrity) and section 295A (outraging religious feelings) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) will apply. He further stated that within a week, these provisions will be added to the case by making suitable application before the trial court. The victim, Kazeem Ahmad Sherwani had approached the top court seeking compensation for the injury caused to him by the inaction of the police to register his complaint. Senior advocate Huzefa Ahmadi appeared for the petitioner along with advocate Shahrukh Alam urged the court that the issue of compensation is still outstanding. The bench said, "Now ASG Nataraj has accepted that sections 153B and 295A should apply. For compensation, you can approach the appropriate forum." However, Alam requested the court to keep the matter pending which the court accepted. The state had registered the FIR in January 2023 for criminal intimidation and causing hurt and claimed that the complainant (Sherwani) was targeted by the accused who operated as a gang and picked up persons with the intention to loot them. While the court was not willing to give a communal "colour" to the incident claiming that such a generalisation cannot be made based on a single incident, the court had questioned the state over its denial of the case having anything to do with hate crime. It had observed on February 3, "Unless and until you won't file a case, how will you know?" The incident was on July 4, 2021 when Sherwani, a resident of Delhi, came to Noida to travel to Aligarh. It was there he was accosted by a group of men who offered him a lift and abused and pulled his beard. On realising that the state had already filed a charge sheet, the court had put to the state that it cannot refuse registration of the FIR while it is open for the state to decline sanction for the hate crime offences on consideration of the material. Prosecution under sections 153B and 295A IPC requires sanction of the state under section 196 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC). Sherwani approached the top court in November 2021 seeking a victim compensation scheme for persons affected by hate crimes. He had initially filed his complaint with the Delhi police at a police station near his residence. His complaint was forwarded to the Noida Police who refused to lodge the case. He also demanded action against the police personnel who refused to register his case. The state informed that disciplinary proceedings were initiated against the cops who failed to register his complaint. The bench, during an earlier hearing had said, "A Muslim man has a beard as an integral part of his religious practice. This has come out in the statement made by him to the Delhi police. By verbally abusing and pulling the beard, the intimation of it being a hate crime is very clear."...