Calling hate a "common enemy", the Supreme Court said on Monday “not everything” amounts to hate speech and the courts have to be careful while deciding what constituted the offence.

A bench of Justices KM Joseph and BV Nagarathna said hate speech is not defined in the Constitution.

The top court said the invocation of Section 153A (Promoting enmity between different groups on ground of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language etc) would largely depend on the court's interpretation of the provisions.

“It is not that everything that is said amounts to hate speech. We have to be careful. Only the sections as interpreted by this court would constitute the offence. We have to bear that in mind,” the bench said.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta submitted that two applications have been filed in the matter with respect to allegations of hate speech and sought time to respond.

During the hearing, the apex court said it is necessary to remove hate from the minds to see things in a clear perspective.

“There is a common enemy, i.e., hate. Remove hate from the mind and see the difference. Everything will be clear,” the bench observed while posting the matter for hearing on March 21.

The apex court had earlier lamented that nobody was taking action against hate speeches despite its orders and observed that it would be left "embarrassed again and again" if it is asked to issue further directions to curb such statements.

Holding that the Constitution envisages a secular country, the top court had, on October 21 last year, directed the Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand governments to come down hard on hate speeches by promptly registering criminal cases against the culprits, without waiting for a complaint.

It had also warned that any delay on the part of the administration in taking action on this "very serious issue" would invite the court's contempt.

Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by The Telegraph Online staff and has been published from a syndicated feed.