In the wake of the Supreme Court’s verdict on the arrests of lawyers and activists in relation to the Bhima Koregaon incident, historian Romila Thapar yesterday acknowledged the Court’s protection of the dignity and liberty of the detainees..Romila Thapar held a press conference along with her fellow petitioners Maja Daruwala, Prabhat Patnaik, Satish Deshpande, and counsel appearing for them Vrinda Grover, to discuss the outcome of the Supreme Court hearing..“We, the Petitioners, are pleased to note that at least the liberty and dignity of the human rights activists has for the time being not been jeopardized and the Supreme Court has protected the same”, Thapar said while reading out the joint statement issued by the petitioners..The Supreme Court Bench of Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra, Justice AM Khanwilkar and Justice DY Chandrachud, by a 2:1 majority, ruled out the constitution of a Special Investigation Team (SIT). to probe the case. The judgment, however, says that the detained persons will remain under house arrest for another four weeks, during which they can take legal recourse before other appropriate courts..Grover, during the press conference, said that it was never the prayer of the petitioners that there be no investigation against them, They simply prayed for a fair and free investigation for which they sought constitution of an SIT..On why the five “strangers” to the case approached the Supreme Court, Thapar said that the idea was to highlight, what they believed, was a gross misuse of power by the State machinery..“Our intention was to draw the attention of the Judiciary to what we believe is a case of gross misuse of the State’s powers under draconian laws like the UAPA. Our history as a Republic shows that, if left unchecked, such misuse causes grave injustices and endangers the civil liberties of all Indians.”.Maja Daruwala weighed in to say that the petitioners approached the Court not only to highlight the five arrests made on August 28, but to highlight the misuse of Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA)..Discussing the dissenting judgment, which resonated with the petitioners, Daruwala said that Justice Chandrachud has recognized the urgency and stated that judicial pronouncements are not enough when it comes to civil liberties. She further added that the arrests of August 28 were arbitrary, saying,.“Arrest comes at the end of a viable process of investigation. It is not meant to be the first action on a fishing expedition”.Prabhat Patnaik viewed the one-month long litigation in the Supreme Court in this case as a significant moment. He said,.“The fact that the Supreme Court took cognizance of our petition is a matter of significance. During the trial, the whole country has been watching and listening to it and a kind of sensitization has been going on about dissent and threat to it.”.Ending the press conference, Grover hailed the verdict, saying that even the majority judgment deems it fit to protect the dignity and liberty of the detained persons..Read the Joint Statement by the Petitioners here:
In the wake of the Supreme Court’s verdict on the arrests of lawyers and activists in relation to the Bhima Koregaon incident, historian Romila Thapar yesterday acknowledged the Court’s protection of the dignity and liberty of the detainees..Romila Thapar held a press conference along with her fellow petitioners Maja Daruwala, Prabhat Patnaik, Satish Deshpande, and counsel appearing for them Vrinda Grover, to discuss the outcome of the Supreme Court hearing..“We, the Petitioners, are pleased to note that at least the liberty and dignity of the human rights activists has for the time being not been jeopardized and the Supreme Court has protected the same”, Thapar said while reading out the joint statement issued by the petitioners..The Supreme Court Bench of Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra, Justice AM Khanwilkar and Justice DY Chandrachud, by a 2:1 majority, ruled out the constitution of a Special Investigation Team (SIT). to probe the case. The judgment, however, says that the detained persons will remain under house arrest for another four weeks, during which they can take legal recourse before other appropriate courts..Grover, during the press conference, said that it was never the prayer of the petitioners that there be no investigation against them, They simply prayed for a fair and free investigation for which they sought constitution of an SIT..On why the five “strangers” to the case approached the Supreme Court, Thapar said that the idea was to highlight, what they believed, was a gross misuse of power by the State machinery..“Our intention was to draw the attention of the Judiciary to what we believe is a case of gross misuse of the State’s powers under draconian laws like the UAPA. Our history as a Republic shows that, if left unchecked, such misuse causes grave injustices and endangers the civil liberties of all Indians.”.Maja Daruwala weighed in to say that the petitioners approached the Court not only to highlight the five arrests made on August 28, but to highlight the misuse of Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA)..Discussing the dissenting judgment, which resonated with the petitioners, Daruwala said that Justice Chandrachud has recognized the urgency and stated that judicial pronouncements are not enough when it comes to civil liberties. She further added that the arrests of August 28 were arbitrary, saying,.“Arrest comes at the end of a viable process of investigation. It is not meant to be the first action on a fishing expedition”.Prabhat Patnaik viewed the one-month long litigation in the Supreme Court in this case as a significant moment. He said,.“The fact that the Supreme Court took cognizance of our petition is a matter of significance. During the trial, the whole country has been watching and listening to it and a kind of sensitization has been going on about dissent and threat to it.”.Ending the press conference, Grover hailed the verdict, saying that even the majority judgment deems it fit to protect the dignity and liberty of the detained persons..Read the Joint Statement by the Petitioners here: