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Caricature: P Mahamud, Courtesy: Vijaya Karnataka

 

 

 

Letter no. 1:

To,

The Chief Minister

Maharashtra

Dear Chief Minister,

I am forwarding an email I have received stating that a woman in

Maharashtra has been arrested for protesting on Facebook against the

shut down in Mumbai on the occasion of the death of Mr. Bal Thackeray.

It is alleged that she has been arrested for allegedly hurting

religious sentiments.

 

To my mind it is absurd to say that protesting against a bandh hurts

religious sentiments. Under Article 19(1)(a) of our Constitution

freedom of speech is a guaranteed fundamental right . We are living in

a democracy, not a fascist dictatorship. In fact this arrest itself

appears to be a criminal act since under sections 341 and 342 it is a

crime to wrongfully arrest or wrongfully confine someone who has

committed no crime.

 

Hence if the facts reported are correct, I request you to immediately

order the suspension, arrest, chargesheeting and criminal prosecution

of the police personnel (however high they may be) who ordered as well

as implemented the arrest of that woman, failing which I will deem it

that you as Chief Minister are unable to run the state in a democratic

manner as envisaged by the Constitution to which you have taken oath,

and then the legal consequences will follow

 

Regards

Justice Katju

(Chairman, Press Council of India, and former Judge, Supreme Court of India)

 

Letter no. 2:

 

Dear Chief Minister,

 

You have not replied to my email but only forwarded it to someone

called Amitabh Rajan, whom I do not know, and who has not had the

courtesy to respond to me. Please realize that the matter is much too

serious to be taken in this cavalier manner, because the principle of

liberty is at stake.The entire nation wants to know what action you

have taken. I would therefore request you to immediately let me know

what you are doing in this matter.

 

Are we living in a democracy or not ? How can a person be arrested for

objecting to the shutdown in Mumbai on Thackeray’s death ? Article 21

of the Constitution, to uphold which you have taken an oath, states

that no one can be deprived of his life or liberty except in

accordance with law. Does Article 21 not exist in Maharashtra ? Does

freedom of speech guaranteed by Article 19(1)(a) also not exist in

your state ?

 

Please realize that silence is not an option for you in the matter.

The entire nation is furious at this apparently illegal arrest.

Therefore I once again request you to tell me, and through me the

entire nation, why this arrest of a woman was made in Mumbai just for

putting up an apparently innocuous material on the Facebook, and what

action you have taken against the delinquent policemen and others

involved in this high handedness and blatant misuse of state machinery

Regards

Justice Katju