Skip to main content

Withdraw prosecution against Disha Ravi, Nikita Jacob, Shantanu Muluk: PUCL

Counterview Desk 

Asking the Government of India to “stop witch hunt” and “drop all false and motivated cases”, India’s premier human rights organisation, People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) has said that Disha Ravi’s case suggests how the law and order authorities are failing to respect “the fundamental right of free speech, dissent, assembly and association.”
In a statement signed by Mr. Ravi Kiran Jain, President, and Dr. V. Suresh, general secretary, PUCL said, the court judgment granting Disha Ravi bail should make the government realize “the error of its ways and withdraws this egregious prosecution against Disha Ravi, Nikita Jacob and Shantanu Muluk.”
It added, “This is vital as though Disha Ravi is out on bail, this case will continue unless the government takes proactive action to stop this malicious prosecution of India’s young climate activists.”

Text:

The PUCL welcomes the order of the Delhi Sessions Court on February 23, 2021, granting bail to Disha Ravi, a 21 year old resident of Bengaluru who was unjustly incarcerated for offences under Sections 124A, 153A and 120B of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), 1860. Ms. Ravi suffered a series of egregious violations including abduction by the Delhi police from her home in Bengaluru in brazen violation of all legal procedures and constitutional protections, denial of the right to legal representation and most egregious of all- invocation of the sedition law for the mere fact that she choose to exercise her right to thought, expression and association.
The Sessions Judge in his order has vindicated the struggle of the many ordinary citizens across the country who were outraged at this executive outreach and registered their outrage through protests, candle light vigils and open letters to the Government.
In his order the Sessions Judge has clearly stated that, ‘citizens are conscience keepers of government in any democratic nation. They cannot be put behind bars because they choose to disagree with the State’s policies.’ He has delivered a fitting rebuke to the authorities by his scathing observation that, ‘the offence of sedition cannot be invoked to minister to the wounded vanity of the governments’.
It is also noteworthy that the order expressly says that the prosecution’s evidence of sedition which included pictures of protests with a tag line saying, ‘To stand up against India’s failing democracy(at the behest of the fascistic ruling party, RSS-BJP’, was dismissed with the learned judge saying, ‘i find absolutely nothing objectionable in the said page’.
The Learned Judge correctly appreciated the contours of sedition noting that, ‘imputations may be false, exaggerated or even with a mischievous intent but the same cannot be stigmatized being seditious unless they have a tendency to foment violence’.
The PUCL hopes that both the Delhi Police and the Union government views this order as a reminder that as far as the Indian Constitution is concerned, neither is speaking out a crime and neither is speaking to an international audience a crime. As the Learned Judge rightly reminded us that as far as this five thousand year old civilization is concerned, as the Rig Veda puts it, ‘Let noble thoughts come to me from all directions’.
The State should recognise as the Learned judge notes, ‘an aware and assertive citizenry, in contradistinction with an indifferent or docile citizenry, is indisputably a sign of a healthy and vibrant democracy’.
Citizens are conscience keepers of government in any democratic nation. They cannot be put behind bars because they choose to disagree with the state’s policies
PUCL hopes that the Government realizes the error of its ways and withdraws this egregious prosecution against Disha Ravi, Nikita Jacob and Shantanu Muluk. This is vital as though Disha Ravi is out on bail, this case will continue unless the government takes proactive action to stop this malicious prosecution of India’s young climate activists.
As the Learned Judge clearly recognized, the FIR in this case, makes a mockery of the Indian Constitution by its strained effort to paint dissent, disagreement and protest as a grand anti-national conspiracy. The FIR paints what is a constitutional right in a democracy, namely solidarity actions in support of millions of Indian farmers such as ‘recording videos’, ‘organising gatherings’ and ‘taking pictures’ of protests as tarred with ‘illegality’ and besmirched with anti national sentiment. Perhaps the heights of the paranoia of an insecure government is revealed when the FIR wildly indicts protests to target ‘symbols’ of Indian culture like yoga and chai.
If we aspire to safeguard the future of our youth, then the government must stop persecuting India’s youth through the sedition law. The law on sedition, like the UAPA, has today become a tool to curb youthful curiosity and the passion of young people to make the world a better place by punishing criticism and crushing dissent. These laws must be repealed if we want India to awaken into that haven of freedom which our great national poet, Rabindranath Tagore dreamed of in which the ‘mind is without fear and the head is held high’.
We demand that
  • The state withdraws prosecution against Disha Ravi, Nikita Jacob, Shantanu Muluk and all others being falsely implicated in this frivolous conspiracy case.
  • Section 124-A of the IPC be repealed.
  • The Central government and other governments should immediately stop the witch hunt of young people, farmers and activists who are expressing their fundamental right to free speech, dissent and assembly seeking accountability, transparency and responsibility from the government, its agencies and officials.
  • Laws such as UAPA which criminalise the freedom to think, express and associate must also be repealed immediately.

Comments

TRENDING

Campaign group urges INDIA alliance to release Jharkhand manifesto to counter BJP’s 'divisive' agenda

By Our Representative  The Loktantra Bachao Abhiyan, an advocacy group, has issued a press release urging the INDIA alliance to release a Jharkhand-specific manifesto to counter the BJP’s "divisive" electoral agenda. With just two weeks remaining before the assembly elections, the INDIA coalition has yet to announce its plans and priorities for the state. Meanwhile, the BJP's campaign, according to the press release, is centered around communalism, divisiveness, and distraction from Jharkhand's core issues.

Tributes paid to pioneer of Naxalism in Punjab, who 'dodged' police for 60 yrs

By Harsh Thakor*  Jagjit Singh Sohal, known as Comrade Sharma, a pioneer of Naxalism in Punjab, passed away on October 20 at the age of 96. Committed to the Naxalite cause and a prominent Maoist leader, Sohal, who succeeded Charu Majumdar, played hide and seek with the police for almost six decades. He was cremated in Patiala.

Israel's 'war crime': 18,000 children died not just from bomb explosions but also starvation

By Sandeep Pandey*  Last year 6 years old Madiha was a guest during Diwali at our home in Lucknow. Listening to the sound of fire crackers bursting outside she remarked, ‘It appears as if we’re in Gaza.’ She has probably no idea of the extent of damage and loss of life that has taken place in Palestine but can relate to sound of crackers as bombs exploding over Gaza.

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

Will Left victory in Sri Lanka deliver economic sovereignty plan, go beyond 'tired' IMF agenda?

By Atul Chandra, Vijay Prashad*  On September 22, 2024, the Sri Lankan election authority announced that Anura Kumara Dissanayake of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP)-led National People’s Power (NPP) alliance won the presidential election. Dissanayake, who has been the leader of the left-wing JVP since 2014, defeated 37 other candidates, including the incumbent president Ranil Wickremesinghe of the United National Party (UNP) and his closest challenger Sajith Premadasa of the Samagi Jana Balawegaya. 

Will Bangladesh go Egypt way, where military ruler is in power for a decade?

By Vijay Prashad*  The day after former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina left Dhaka, I was on the phone with a friend who had spent some time on the streets that day. He told me about the atmosphere in Dhaka, how people with little previous political experience had joined in the large protests alongside the students—who seemed to be leading the agitation. I asked him about the political infrastructure of the students and about their political orientation. He said that the protests seemed well-organized and that the students had escalated their demands from an end to certain quotas for government jobs to an end to the government of Sheikh Hasina. Even hours before she left the country, it did not seem that this would be the outcome.

Bid to isolate India globally 'to drive it even closer' to long-time ally, Russia

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat*  The relationship between India and Canada has plunged to unprecedented lows, with both governments seemingly exploiting the situation for their domestic political gains. Canada has long been home to several anti-India elements, with little action taken against them. When Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated on October 31, 1984, some of these secessionist groups openly celebrated and issued further threats, particularly from Canada and Britain.  While Britain eventually acted to contain such elements in the interest of maintaining ties with India, Canada did not. Over the years, India has sought the extradition of 23 criminals residing in Canada, but the Canadian government has mostly dismissed these requests, claiming these individuals have no criminal records in their country.

A Hindu alternative to Valentine's Day? 'Shiv-Parvati was first love marriage in Universe'

By Rajiv Shah  The other day, I was searching on Google a quote on Maha Shivratri which I wanted to send to someone, a confirmed Shiv Bhakt, quite close to me -- with an underlying message to act positively instead of being negative. On top of the search, I chanced upon an article in, imagine!, a Nashik Corporation site which offered me something very unusual. 

How pseudo-liberals 'went wrong' in judging DY Chandrachud as Chief Justice India

By Shamsul Islam*  DY Chandrachud took charge as Chief Justice of the Indian Supreme Court (SC) on November 09, 2022. On this occasion many of the pseudo-liberals who claimed to be defenders of the democratic-secular polity of India manifested great happiness. They declared that the time of SC being an appendage of the RSS-BJP government headed by PM Modi was over as Justice Chandrachud was a liberal judge committed to the democratic-secular polity of India.