Skip to main content

Vengeful, spiteful, unconstitutional: PUCL on travel ban on anti-BJP journalist-activists

Counterview Desk 
Taking strong exception to travel ban, imposed on journalist-activists Aakar Patel and Rana Ayyub, known critics of the ruling BJP, the People’s Union of Civil Liberties (PUCL), India’s premier human rights organisation, has has qualified it as an act of censorship of dissent”, stating, it is nothing but “an act of betrayal of the Indian constitution and diminishes Indian democracy.”
In a signed statement PUCL general secretary Dr V Suresh said, “We urge the Government to allow for the free play of dissenting voices as that is the mandate imposed upon them by the Indian Constitution which they have sworn to uphold. We demand that the government refrain from the unconstitutional use Look Out Circular as a policy tool to stifle legitimate criticism.
The statement demanded that the government immediately issue public apology to both for “the unconscionable and unconstitutional actions of preventing them from expressing their constitutional rights of expression and movement.”

Text:

On April 6, 2022, Aakar Patel, well known human rights activist and journalist, was prevented by Immigration authorities in Bengaluru airport from catching a flight to the US and forced to turn back. Aakar Patel was on his way to speak at various universities in the US. The basis of the denial to fly out of the country was a “Look-Out Circular” (LOC) allegedly issued by the CBI.
PUCL strongly condemns the actions of the Government of India to arbitrarily and capriciously abuse its power to detain or block prominent and well known persons like Aakar Patel just at the time when they are about to leave for scheduled visits abroad, details of which have been informed to the authorities.
What exposes the sinister and motivated act of the Government of India is that Aakar Patel was travelling abroad only after obtaining permission from a Court in Surat which permitted return of his passport deposited in the Court, to enable him to travel to the US. The Court order was passed only after the Gujarat state police and the government were informed of Aakar Patel’s request to travel abroad and fiercely opposed the petition.
Eventually, the Court permitted him to travel only after he gave full information to the Government authorities about his tour plan, addresses of places he was planning to stay and tour itinerary, which included lectures in the New York University and Berkeley. Very importantly, Aakar complied with the condition of the Court to deposit Rs 2 lakh as condition for permission for return of passport to enable him to travel between March 1 and May 30, 2022.
It should be pointed out that the government did not disclose before the appropriate court which legally permitted Aakar to travel, that there was a travel ban by virtue of an existing CBI case. It is in this background that the actions of the government to block Aakar Patel from travelling is illegal and reprehensible.
It is important to note that such a circular has no statutory or legal basis and is a misuse of executive power to impose what is in effect a de-facto travel ban.
The action of the Government of India is nothing but vengeful and spiteful as Aakar Patel has been a trenchant and strong critic of the ruling BJP government and has exposed and opposed its anti-democratic, unconstitutional an anti-people policies, laws and actions.
A week earlier, on March 29, 2022, another prominent journalist, Rana Ayyub was also prevented from travelling abroad to address an international journalism festival as well as speak at the office of prominent global newspaper, the “Guardian”, in London.
Rana Ayyub was not given any written intimation about the reason for Immigration department not allowing her to fly but was orally told that the Enforcement Directorate will be emailing summons to her. Two hours after her detention at the airport, ED issued a summons to her. Though later, the Delhi High Court has permitted her to travel, the fact remains that the Central Government brazenly and arbitrarily abused its power to violate the fundamental right of Rana Ayyub to travel, free speech and dissent.
Both Rana Ayyub and Aakar Patel are prominent journalists and well known citizens, who by no stretch of imagination can be put in `flight risk’ category or list of people who will try to escape the law. In a similar case adjudicated by the Delhi High Court the Court held that a person going to attend a conference to express an opinion which may not be palatable to the government cannot be stifled. As the Court noted in `Priya Pillai v. Union of India’.
The Government of India is in effect misusing its executive power to censor a person’s political opinion
Amongst the varied freedoms conferred on an individual (i.e., the citizen), is the right of free speech and expression, which necessarily includes the right to criticise and dissent. Criticism, by an individual, may not be palatable; even so, it cannot be muzzled.
What both decisions have in common is that they target prominent critics of the government who are very articulate, expressive and well informed critics of the Central government and its anti-people policies.
In effect, by not allowing dissent its rightful constitutional place, the government is proving its critics right, namely that the Central government is so intolerant of criticism that it will not shy away from brazenly abusing the various instrumentalities at its disposal, from the ED to the CBI, to prevent its critics from speaking out. The government is in effect misusing its executive power to censor a person’s political opinion.
This is a matter of deep shame for a country which prides itself on being the world’s largest democracy. If democracy is to mean anything at all, it should mean that criticism even fierce criticism which the government perceives to be unfair, is accepted with good grace. As Gandhiji said in the context of India’s struggle for independence:
“We must first make good the right of free speech and free association before we can make any further progress towards our goal. [...]We must defend these elementary rights with our lives. Liberty of speech means that it is unassailed even when the speech hurts; liberty of the press can be said to be truly respected only when the press can comment in the severest terms upon and even misrepresent matters…”
Every action of censorship of dissent is an act of betrayal of the Indian constitution and diminishes Indian democracy.
We urge the Government to allow for the free play of dissenting voices as that is the mandate imposed upon them by the Indian Constitution which they have sworn to uphold. We demand that the Government refrain from the unconstitutional use LOC’s as a policy tool to stifle legitimate criticism.
We also demand that the travel ban imposed on Aakar Patel, as also on Rana Ayyub, be immediately rescinded and a public apology be tendered to both of them for the unconscionable and unconstitutional actions of preventing them from expressing their constitutional rights of expression and movement.

Comments

TRENDING

Insider plot to kill Deendayal Upadhyay? What RSS pracharak Balraj Madhok said

By Shamsul Islam*  Balraj Madhok's died on May 2, 2016 ending an era of old guards of Hindutva politics. A senior RSS pracharak till his death was paid handsome tributes by the RSS leaders including PM Modi, himself a senior pracharak, for being a "stalwart leader of Jan Sangh. Balraj Madhok ji's ideological commitment was strong and clarity of thought immense. He was selflessly devoted to the nation and society. I had the good fortune of interacting with Balraj Madhok ji on many occasions". The RSS also issued a formal condolence message signed by the Supremo Mohan Bhagwat on behalf of all swayamsevaks, referring to his contribution of commitment to nation and society. He was a leading RSS pracharak on whom his organization relied for initiating prominent Hindutva projects. But today nobody in the RSS-BJP top hierarchy remembers/talks about Madhok as he was an insider chronicler of the immense degeneration which was spreading as an epidemic in the high echelons of th

Central pollution watchdog sees red in Union ministry labelling waste to energy green

By Chythenyen Devika Kulasekaran*  “Destructors”, “incinerators” and “waste-to-energy (WTE) incineration” all mean the same thing – indiscriminate burning of garbage! Having a history of about one and a half centuries, WTE incinerators have seen several reboots over the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries. 

First-of-its-kind? 'Eco-friendly, low cost' sewage treatment system installed in Gujarat

Counterview Desk Following the installation of the Unconventional Decentralized Multi-Stage Reactor (UDMSR) for sewage treatment, a note on what is claimed to be the  first-of-its-kind technology said, the treated sewage from this system “can be directly utilized for agricultural purposes”, even as proving to be a “saviour in the times of water crisis.”

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. 

Indo-Bangla border: Farmers facing 'illegal obstacles' in harvesting, transporting yields

  Counterview Desk  In a representation to the chairperson, National Human Rights Commission, human rights defender Kirity Roy, who is secretary, Banglar Manabadhikar Suraksha Mancha (MASUM), has said that Border Security Force (BSF) personnel are creating "illegal obstacles" for farmers seeking to harvest their ripened yields and transport them to the market in village Jhaukuthi of Cooch Behar district.

Wasteland, a colonial legacy, being used to 'give away' vast tracts to Ratnagiri refinery

By Fouziya Tehzeeb* William D’Souza, a 55-year old farmer from Kuthethur, Mangalore, was busy mixing cattle feed when we arrived at his doorsteps. Around 25 km from the bustling city of Mangalore, Kuthethur is a lush green village with thick vegetation. On the way to William’s house the idyllic view gets blocked by the flares and smoke arising from the Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited (MRPL).

'Flawed' argument: Gandhi had minimal role, naval mutinies alone led to Independence

Counterview Desk Reacting to a Counterview  story , "Rewiring history? Bose, not Gandhi, was real Father of Nation: British PM Attlee 'cited'" (January 26, 2016), an avid reader has forwarded  reaction  in the form of a  link , which carries the article "Did Atlee say Gandhi had minimal role in Independence? #FactCheck", published in the site satyagrahis.in. The satyagraha.in article seeks to debunk the view, reported in the Counterview story, taken by retired army officer GD Bakshi in his book, “Bose: An Indian Samurai”, which claims that Gandhiji had a minimal role to play in India's freedom struggle, and that it was Netaji who played the crucial role. We reproduce the satyagraha.in article here. Text: Nowadays it is said by many MK Gandhi critics that Clement Atlee made a statement in which he said Gandhi has ‘minimal’ role in India's independence and gave credit to naval mutinies and with this statement, they concluded the whole freedom struggle.

CAA disregards India's inclusive plural ethos, 'betrays' ideals of freedom struggle: PUCL

Counterview Desk    "Outraged" at the move of the Central government to implement the Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019 (CAA 2019) weeks before the election, the top rights group, People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), has demanded that the law be repealed. 

Buddhist shrines were 'massively destroyed' by Brahmanical rulers: Historian DN Jha

Nalanda mahavihara By Our Representative Prominent historian DN Jha, an expert in India's ancient and medieval past, in his new book , "Against the Grain: Notes on Identity, Intolerance and History", in a sharp critique of "Hindutva ideologues", who look at the ancient period of Indian history as "a golden age marked by social harmony, devoid of any religious violence", has said, "Demolition and desecration of rival religious establishments, and the appropriation of their idols, was not uncommon in India before the advent of Islam".

Sections of BSF, BGB personnel 'directly or indirectly' involved in cross border smuggling

By Kirity Roy*  The Border Security Force (BSF) of India and the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) of Bangladesh met for 54th Director General level meeting at Dhaka, Bangladesh, on 5th to 9th March, 2024 to discuss on minimizing killings at border area, illegal intrusion, trafficking of drugs and other narcotics, smuggling of arms and ammunitions and other crimes at bordering areas. Further, the summit had an agenda to discuss on overall development in 150 yards area at both sides of the border and design an activity plan for the same.