Larger Issues of Violation of Fundamental Rights

Dr Singhvi countered by saying that the arrests were part of a “bigger case”, and that the petition had been brought on behalf of the public because the government’s actions were meant to have a chilling effect on free speech of all citizens, and posed a threat to the right to life under Article 21 of the Constitution as well. “All our liberties are being compromised,” he argued.

‘Flaws’ in the Government’s Case

Sparks then flew as Tushar Mehta tried to say that some of the activists had been previously arrested. This drew serious criticism from the entire crowd, as while it was true that some of the activists had been previously arrested, they had also been acquitted of committing any criminal offences. Arun Ferreira, for instance, spent four years in jail before being acquitted of UAPA charges. Things turned sour for the government’s case after that. First, the judges expressed surprise that the FIR which first alleged incitement of the Bhima-Koregaon violence by the Dalit activists (rather than rightwing Hindu groups led by Milind Ekbote and Sambhaji Bhide) said nothing about the persons arrested on Tuesday. The connection between the Dalit activists and the violence on 1 January 2018 was supposed to be the ‘Elgar Parishad’, a meeting organised by Dalit rights activists a day before, where the violence had allegedly been incited. However, as Singhvi pointed out, “These people who are arrested have not been alleged to be part of the meeting.” Next, Singhvi pointed out that the convenors of the Elgar Parishad in fact included two retired judges – former Supreme Court Justice PB Sawant, and former Bombay High Court Justice BG Kolse Patil.

Dissent, Delays and Drama: The SC’s Bhima-Koregaon Arrests Hearing

Impassioned arguments on liberty and free speech. An obdurate government response. A powerful judicial comment on the importance of dissent.

A day of high drama in the Supreme Court ended with Chief Justice Dipak Misra staying the transit remand orders against the activists arrested on Tuesday, 28 August, in connection with the Bhima-Koregaon violence and alleged Naxal links. Sudha Bharadwaj, Gautam Navlakha, Arun Ferreira, Varavara Rao and Vernon Gonsalves are all to be kept under house arrest instead, till the Supreme Court hears the matter again on 6 September.

The matter isn’t over yet – this is just an interim order, and does not mean the activists will be set free. The Supreme Court has instead sought a response from the Maharashtra government (the Pune Police asked for the countrywide arrests) as to why all of this is necessary.

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Topics: Supreme Court Abhishek Manu Singhvi Tushar Mehta

Published: 29 Aug 2018, 11:29 PM IST

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Dissent, Democracy and Drama: What SC Said on Activists’ Arrests

Everything that happened during the SC hearing, including Justice Chandrachud’s powerful statement about dissent

Read Latest News and Breaking News at The Quint, browse for more from opinion

Topics: Supreme Court Abhishek Manu Singhvi Tushar Mehta