Article 21 'overturned' by new criminal laws: Lawyers, activists remember Stan Swamy

By Gova Rathod*

The People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), Gujarat, organised an event in Ahmedabad entitled “Remembering Fr. Stan Swamy in Today’s Challenging Reality” in the memory of Fr. Stan Swamy on his third death anniversary. The event included a discussion of the new criminal laws enforced since July 1, 2024.

At the start of the event Fr. Cedric Prakash spoke about Fr. Stan Swamy, a fearless defender of tribal rights in Jharkhand, who was arrested by the NIA in 2018 in the context of the Bhima Koregaon case.

Human rights defenders and members of political parties across the nation had protested the arrest of the then 81-year-old activist who had worked tirelessly with Adivasis to defend their rights. He passed away on July 5, 2021 at the Holy Family Hospital, Mumbai, due to complications related to Covid while still under arrest, said Prakash.

Advocate Lara Jesani of the Bombay High Court delivered the keynote address and discussed the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), and Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam (BSA) which have replaced the Indian Penal Code (IPC), Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), and Indian Evidence Act, respectively and their implications for citizens’ rights.

She expressed serious concern regarding the manner in which the Law Commission was bypassed, views of public and experts not considered in the process of overhauling the criminal jurisprudence of the country, by just entrusting the task to a five member committee.

It was strange that when 80-85% of the BNS, BNSS and BSA was taken verbatim from the erstwhile CRPC, IPC and the Indian Evidence Act and just reorganised, rather than “decolonised” as claimed, that the laws were replaced when the limited changes could have been brought through amendments as was being done from time to time, she added.

While examining the new criminal laws, Jesani expounded on the issues they throw up, some key ones being:

(i) the discretion given to the police to conduct a preliminary investigation before deciding whether an FIR should be filed,

(ii) the vagueness in the number of days of police custody that could be granted which could result in a situation where the earlier provision limiting to the first 15 days could be now extended to 60 or 90 days, and thereby almost pre-closing the possibility of bail during this entire period

(iii) the introduction of provisions from anti-terror law UAPA into the BNS, the introduction of the controversial sedition-like law in a graver and more dangerous form,

(iv) criminalisation of hunger strike by protestors, and

(v) the admissibility of electronic evidence without any safeguards for privacy and data protection or procedures for seizure of devices and integrity of device and data, and other provisions which give arbitrary and sweeping powers to the police.

The way Stan Swamy was incarcerated shows, new criminal laws could be used to snatch away civil liberties and fundamental freedoms of citizens

Jesani said that not only would these ill-conceived changes brought about through the new criminal laws lead to chaos in court and increased litigations in an already stressed legal system, but they are regressive and contradict the law laid down in several landmark Supreme Court judgements like in the case of DK Basu, Joseph Shine and Lalita Kumari, and are violative of fundamental rights enshrined in the Indian Constitution.

Activist Nirjhari Sinha spoke on how these laws could be used to curtail the freedom of speech, especially of independent media and fact-checkers. The window of 15 days given to the police to investigate and ascertain prima facie the commission of an offence would have far-reaching implications on ensuring justice in cases of sexual violence.

Advocate Amrish Patel emphasized how the procedural law in the earlier criminal jurisprudence flowed from Article 21, which has been overturned by the new laws.

Advocate Shamsad Pathan said that the struggle of the minorities to make their voices heard in the context of the spread of hate speech and targeted violence would be seriously affected as a result of the sweeping powers given to the police in the new criminal laws.

Activist Kishor Chaudhury said that the impact of the new laws was already being felt in the Adivasi community. The police already cited the new laws when the Adivasi organizations informed them about the Indigenous Day celebrations on 9th August; and that Adivasis should limit to their ‘cultural programmes’ on this day and not any political demonstrations.

Trade union leader Ashim Roy was positive that the various stakeholders, especially the legal fraternity and civil society activists, would stand up against the new criminal laws and spearhead a collective, democratic and transparent process that would compel the government to withdraw the new criminal laws.

I told the meet that the manner in which Fr. Stan Swamy was incarcerated under draconian laws were an indication of how the new criminal laws could be used to snatch away civil liberties and fundamental freedoms of citizens.

I expressed my apprehension that the changes in procedural law as envisaged in the new criminal laws could have serious implications on laws like the SC&ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. The new laws would be instrumental in suppressing the on-going struggles of the Dalit and Adivasi communities for justice.

---

*PUCL Gujarat, General Secretary

Comments

History, culture and literature of Fatehpur, UP, from where Maulana Hasrat Mohani hailed

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat* Maulana Hasrat Mohani was a member of the Constituent Assembly and an extremely important leader of our freedom movement. Born in Unnao district of Uttar Pradesh, Hasrat Mohani's relationship with nearby district of Fatehpur is interesting and not explored much by biographers and historians. Dr Mohammad Ismail Azad Fatehpuri has written a book on Maulana Hasrat Mohani and Fatehpur. The book is in Urdu. He has just come out with another important book, 'Hindi kee Pratham Rachna: Chandayan' authored by Mulla Daud Dalmai.' During my recent visit to Fatehpur town, I had an opportunity to meet Dr Mohammad Ismail Azad Fatehpuri and recorded a conversation with him on issues of history, culture and literature of Fatehpur. Sharing this conversation here with you. Kindly click this link. --- *Human rights defender. Facebook https://www.facebook.com/vbrawat , X @freetohumanity, Skype @vbrawat

Urgent need to study cause of large number of natural deaths in Gulf countries

By Venkatesh Nayak* According to data tabled in Parliament in April 2018, there are 87.76 lakh (8.77 million) Indians in six Gulf countries, namely Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). While replying to an Unstarred Question (#6091) raised in the Lok Sabha, the Union Minister of State for External Affairs said, during the first half of this financial year alone (between April-September 2018), blue-collared Indian workers in these countries had remitted USD 33.47 Billion back home. Not much is known about the human cost of such earnings which swell up the country’s forex reserves quietly. My recent RTI intervention and research of proceedings in Parliament has revealed that between 2012 and mid-2018 more than 24,570 Indian Workers died in these Gulf countries. This works out to an average of more than 10 deaths per day. For every US$ 1 Billion they remitted to India during the same period there were at least 117 deaths of Indian Workers in Gulf ...

Uttarakhand tunnel disaster: 'Question mark' on rescue plan, appraisal, construction

By Bhim Singh Rawat* As many as 40 workers were trapped inside Barkot-Silkyara tunnel in Uttarkashi after a portion of the 4.5 km long, supposedly completed portion of the tunnel, collapsed early morning on Sunday, Nov 12, 2023. The incident has once again raised several questions over negligence in planning, appraisal and construction, absence of emergency rescue plan, violations of labour laws and environmental norms resulting in this avoidable accident.

A comrade in culture and controversy: Yao Wenyuan’s revolutionary legacy

By Harsh Thakor* This year marks two important anniversaries in Chinese revolutionary history—the 20th death anniversary of Yao Wenyuan, and the 50th anniversary of his seminal essay "On the Social Basis of the Lin Biao Anti-Party Clique". These milestones invite reflection on the man whose pen ignited the first sparks of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution and whose sharp ideological interventions left an indelible imprint on the political and cultural landscape of socialist China.

Civil society groups unite to oppose Rajasthan anti-conversion Bill, urge Governor to withhold assent

By A Representative A coalition of civil society organisations, rights groups and faith-based associations has strongly condemned the passage of the “Rajasthan Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion Bill, 2025” in the State Assembly on September 9, calling it draconian, unconstitutional and a direct attack on the fundamental rights of minorities. The statement was released at a press conference held at Vinoba Gyan Mandir, Jaipur, where representatives of more than a dozen organisations declared that they would actively lobby against the bill and urged the Governor not to grant assent, but instead refer it to the President of India under Article 200 of the Constitution.

India's health workers have no legal right for their protection, regrets NGO network

Counterview Desk In a letter to Union labour and employment minister Santosh Gangwar, the civil rights group Occupational and Environmental Health Network of India (OEHNI), writing against the backdrop of strike by Bhabha hospital heath care workers, has insisted that they should be given “clear legal right for their protection”.

Supreme Court: Outsourcing jobs in public institutions cannot be used as a tool for exploitation

By Raj Kumar Sinha* Ahead of the Assembly elections in Bihar, the issue of contract workers has heated up. A few days ago in Patna, around 9,000 land survey contract workers arrived at the BJP office demanding their jobs be made permanent and for the payment of outstanding salaries. These contract workers, who are involved in land measurement, were then subjected to a police baton charge. The protest had been going on for a month at the Gardanibagh strike site in Patna, Bihar. According to the contract workers, they have been working in various government offices, including the Revenue and Land Reforms Department, for years but do not receive the same rights and benefits as permanent employees. Their main demands are "equal pay for equal work" and guaranteed service until the age of 60.

Job opportunities decreasing, wages remain low: Delhi construction workers' plight

By Bharat Dogra* It was about 32 years back that a hut colony in posh Prashant Vihar area of Delhi was demolished. It was after a great struggle that the people evicted from here could get alternative plots that were not too far away from their earlier colony. Nirmana, an organization of construction workers, played an important role in helping the evicted people to get this alternative land. At that time it was a big relief to get this alternative land, even though the plots given to them were very small ones of 10X8 feet size. The people worked hard to construct new houses, often constructing two floors so that the family could be accommodated in the small plots. However a recent visit revealed that people are rather disheartened now by a number of adverse factors. They have not been given the proper allotment papers yet. There is still no sewer system here. They have to use public toilets constructed some distance away which can sometimes be quite messy. There is still no...

Ongoing hunger strike in Ladakh draws fresh attention during PM’s Arunachal visit

By A Representative Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Arunachal Pradesh recently for two days. During his speech, a student from Keladha Adi District displayed a banner that read, “Stop the hunger strike, give Ladakh their rights,” in support of Ladakh climate activist and innovator Sonam Wangchuk. The student was later detained by the police. The incident drew attention to the ongoing hunger strike in Ladakh.

Counterview

Search This Blog