Skip to main content

PUCL releases 'objectionable' paras on human rights groups in NIA judgement on Kasganj communal violence

Counterview Desk 
The People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) has released the English summary translation of what it considers as objectionable paras (185 to 188) against human rights groups, written in the NIA judgement in the Kasganj (UP) communal violence of 2018 case: 
*** 
The judgement in the Kasganj Communal Violence of 2018 which came on 4th January, 2025 had four paragraphs towards the end, which had extremely shocking comments against six human rights groups, namely, Citizens for Justice and Peace, People’s Union for Civil Liberties, N. Delhi,  United Against Hate, Rihaee Manch, Justice and Accountability Alliance, New York, Indian Muslim American Council, South Asia Solidarity, UK. We have attempted to translate the paras. 
Paragraph 185: (Partly summarised and partly word to word.)
After stating that the role of the court was to think correctly so that punishment against the accused for the 26th January, 2018 violence in Kasganj, which killed one person could be pronounced, he further states that this judgement would not address how processions of Hindus faced stone pelting or about communal violence generally or how the court can play the role of social reform. He goes on to say that the courts alone cannot address the problem of communalism. And adds that the legislature, the executive, the dharam gurus and all individuals in society need to come together to change the situation. All people will have to realise that just their God is not supreme, and people will have to learn to respect the religious beliefs of all those who belong to different religions.
 ”…….All acts must not be looked from a communal lens. In this matter the defence counsel, learned advocate Shri Zia-ul Jilani stated that the reports written by various NGOs like Alliance for Justice and Accountability (New York), Citizens for Justice and Peace (Mumbai), Indian American Muslim council, Washington DC, People's Union for Civil Liberties (New Delhi), Rihaee Manch (Lucknow), South Asia Solidarity group, London and United Against Hate (New Delhi), called “Independent Enquiry : The truth of Kasganj, Sham Police Probe : Protects Hindus, Frames Muslims”, in which he accepted that the above report is silent on the teams visiting the site of violence. 
Paragraph 186: (word to word translated)
The Prosecutors have expressed concern that in NIA courts across the country, when accused in cases under the UAPA or other anti-national/terrorist activities are brought for trial, NGOs—primarily advocating Muslim interests—promptly provide legal aid. This contradicts constitutional principles, as it boosts the morale of undesirable elements. For example, data from the Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind’s legal cell claims that it facilitated 400 acquittals by March 2019, highlighting the influence of such organizations. These arguments of the Public Prosecutor Mr. Dikshit were also supported by the learned Public Prosecutor, for the NIA and ATS. 
Paragraph 187 (word to word translation)
This court also took cognisance of the arguments made by Mr. Jilani and Public Prosecutor Lalit Kishore Diskhit. The court is of the opinion that these reports exert undue pressure on the judiciary and the communal sentiment with stealth creep into the realm of ideas. The court is in agreement with the statements of the Public Prosecutors that often it has been observed by special NIA courts that in different States like, Jammu Kashmir, West Bengal, Kerala, Assam, Punjab etc that when the accused are arrested and brought for terrorist activities, or implicated in Fake Currency related crimes, Waging war against state, Crimes related to stealing of National Security and Defence related secrets (classified) and those concerning seditious activities, lawyers from NGOs are there, from before, who file their power of attorney and advocate their case. 
Paragraph188.  (partly summarised and partly translated word to word)
States that the right to free legal aid of an accused has been stated in several judgements. While it is accepted that it is the right of an accused to get free legal aid, but conversely, it is not the right of an NGO to provide free legal aid to the accused who are involved in heinous crimes. It is the duty of the state to provide free legal aid to people who have are unable to advocate their case. For this purpose the Legal services authority act is in place under whom the State legal services authority and district legal services operate and a defence counsel is made available to the accused. Under section 304 of the CrPC a list of lawyers as amicus curie is prepared which has a panel of very good senior lawyers. “If an accused is acquitted due to the learned advocates provided by a communal NGO, then his commitment will be for the NGO and against the state. When the accused is provided by a lawyer from the state then his commitment and trust gets built towards the judiciary and the Constitution. The accused’s view of the judiciary and the state is different when acquittal follows Lawyers provided by the NGOs and those provided by the State Legal Services authority. NGOS providing legal aid and lawyers is resulting in promoting a point of view which is very narrow and dangerous. In this context the judiciary ( Bar and Bench) and all eminent persons associated with it and all stake holders must think about this. It is important to think about the point that the communal contestation which happened in UP in the district of Kasganj, several NGOs located in India, (like) citizens for justice and Peace, Mumbai, People’s Union for Civil Liberties, (New Delhi), Rihaee Manch, (Lucknow), United Against Hate (New Delhi), along with NGOs located abroad, like in America and the Great Britian, like the Alliance for Justice and Accountability, New York, Indian American council, Washington, DC), South Asia Solidarity Group (London),  What could be their interests? Where is their funding coming from, and what are their collective objectives? To investigate this, prevent their unwarranted interference in the judicial process, and to take necessary action to stop them, a copy of this decision should also be sent to the Chairman of the Bar Council of India and the Principal Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India”.

Comments

Post a Comment

TRENDING

Plastic burning in homes threatens food, water and air across Global South: Study

By Jag Jivan  In a groundbreaking  study  spanning 26 countries across the Global South , researchers have uncovered the widespread and concerning practice of households burning plastic waste as a fuel for cooking, heating, and other domestic needs. The research, published in Nature Communications , reveals that this hazardous method of managing both waste and energy poverty is driven by systemic failures in municipal services and the unaffordability of clean alternatives, posing severe risks to human health and the environment.
Post a Comment
»

Economic superpower’s social failure? Inequality, malnutrition and crisis of India's democracy

By Vikas Meshram  India may be celebrated as one of the world’s fastest-growing economies, but a closer look at who benefits from that growth tells a starkly different story. The recently released World Inequality Report 2026 lays bare a country sharply divided by wealth, privilege and power. According to the report, nearly 65 percent of India’s total wealth is owned by the richest 10 percent of its population, while the bottom half of the country controls barely 6.4 percent. The top one percent—around 14 million people—holds more than 40 percent, the highest concentration since 1961. Meanwhile, the female labour force participation rate is a dismal 15.7 percent.
Post a Comment
»

The greatest threat to our food system: The aggressive push for GM crops

By Bharat Dogra  Thanks to the courageous resistance of several leading scientists who continue to speak the truth despite increasing pressures from the powerful GM crop and GM food lobby , the many-sided and in some contexts irreversible environmental and health impacts of GM foods and crops, as well as the highly disruptive effects of this technology on farmers, are widely known today. 
Post a Comment
»

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.
59 comments
»

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 ...
Post a Comment
»

UP tribal woman human rights defender Sokalo released on bail

By  A  Representative After almost five months in jail, Adivasi human rights defender and forest worker Sokalo Gond has been finally released on bail.Despite being granted bail on October 4, technical and procedural issues kept Sokalo behind bars until November 1. The Citizens for Justice and Peace (CJP) and the All India Union of Forest Working People (AIUFWP), which are backing Sokalo, called it a "major victory." Sokalo's release follows the earlier releases of Kismatiya and Sukhdev Gond in September. "All three forest workers and human rights defenders were illegally incarcerated under false charges, in what is the State's way of punishing those who are active in their fight for the proper implementation of the Forest Rights Act (2006)", said a CJP statement.
Post a Comment
»

Jayanthi Natarajan "never stood by tribals' rights" in MNC Vedanta's move to mine Niyamigiri Hills in Odisha

By A Representative The Odisha Chapter of the Campaign for Survival and Dignity (CSD), which played a vital role in the struggle for the enactment of historic Forest Rights Act, 2006 has blamed former Union environment minister Jaynaynthi Natarjan for failing to play any vital role to defend the tribals' rights in the forest areas during her tenure under the former UPA government. Countering her recent statement that she rejected environmental clearance to Vendanta, the top UK-based NMC, despite tremendous pressure from her colleagues in Cabinet and huge criticism from industry, and the claim that her decision was “upheld by the Supreme Court”, the CSD said this is simply not true, and actually she "disrespected" FRA.
Post a Comment
»

Stands 'exposed': Cavalier attitude towards rushed construction of Char Dham project

By Bharat Dogra*  The nation heaved a big sigh of relief when the 41 workers trapped in the under-construction Silkyara-Barkot tunnel (Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand) were finally rescued on November 28 after a 17-day rescue effort. All those involved in the rescue effort deserve a big thanks of the entire country. The government deserves appreciation for providing all-round support.
Post a Comment
»

'Restructuring' Sahitya Akademi: Is the ‘Gujarat model’ reaching Delhi?

By Prakash N. Shah*  ​A fortnight and a few days have slipped past that grim event. It was as if the wedding preparations were complete and the groom’s face was about to be unveiled behind the ceremonial tinsel. At 3 PM on December 18, a press conference was poised to announce the Sahitya Akademi Awards . 
Post a Comment
»