Bengaluru: Former IAS officer Harsh Mander claims himself to be an activist. He can be seen appearing on TV screens quite frequently, criticising the Modi government and the right-wing groups. But while he appears to be making a lot of noise in his endeavours to expose his antagonists on the other side, he doesn’t realise he is exhibiting his rank bias against a particular ideology, thus exposing himself emphatically. 

Today (March 4) when the top court took up the hearing of the case related to hate speeches leading to Delhi riots, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta apprised the court of Mander’s criticism (contempt of court?) of the top court in one of his rabble-rousing speeches. 

The SG told the court that Mander had said, “real justice will be done in the streets".

He even produced a video clip of the same. 

Taking note of the criticism of the top court, the bench hearing the case – headed by Chief Justice of India Arvind Bobde – categorically said that they would not hear any case by Mander on the issue of Delhi riots. 

In fact, the court sought an explanation from Mander and posted the matter to a later date. 

Such offensive remarks against the court are not new for Harsh Mander. He has had frequent friction with the top court. 

A case that comes to mind is how he had sought the then CJI Ranjan Gogoi to recuse himself in a case related to detention centre in Assam, citing Gogoi’s adverse views on the same during the course of hearing. 

Taking umbrage at his views, the bench, headed by the then CJI Gogoi had ordered to remove his name as a petitioner in his own case. 

Another instance that comes to mind is his rabid hate for the police. During one of his TV shows, he had claimed that the UP police had changed the slogan Jai Shri Ram while attacking students of a particular university. 

Taking his ridiculous observation as the Bible, another Left-leaning journalist Rajdeep Sardesai had questioned other panellists on the show on the attitude of the UP police. 

A human rights activist, as Mander claims himself to be, should be impartial and his heart should bleed for any living being that is subjugated or mortified, irrespective of their caste, creed, religion and sex. 

But ironically, this human rights activist lacks humanity, the very sine qua non a human rights activist should have.