Supreme Court on Friday agreed to hear a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking direction to ban websites displaying jokes on Sardars and projecting them in a poor light.

“This (Sikh) community is known for great sense of humour and they also enjoy such jokes. You must have gone through the jokes of Khushwant Singh ...”

“This is only an amusement. Why do you want it to be stopped?...Prepare your case well. We will hear you,” a bench comprising Justices TS Thakur and V Gopala Gowda said.

The apex court was hearing a PIL by Harvinder Chowdhary, a lawyer, who said there are more than 5,000 websites which display jokes on sardars, projecting the members of the Sikh community in a poor light.

Chowdhury has sought direction to the telecom ministry to filter websites that target the Sikh community as it is violative of sections 153A and 153B of the Indian Penal Code.

“All the jokes relating to Sikh community should be stopped. My children are humiliated and feel embarrassed and they don’t want to suffix Singh and Kaur after their name,” Chowdhury said.

Referring to a recent comment by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during campaign for Bihar assembly polls that all Biharis are intelligent people, the lawyer said that it reflected as if other communities were not intelligent.

The bench responded with, “Don’t worry, when he will go to Punjab he will say Sikhs are intelligent.”

“A writ of mandamus be issued to the respondent to ban 5,000 websites which spread jokes on Sardars/Sikhs, projecting them as unintelligent, stupid, idiot, foolish, naive, inept and not well versed with English... on the ground that it violates fundamental right to life and to live with dignity guaranteed under article 21 of the Constitution,” the plea read. (Hindustan Times)