Supreme Court: Quell dissent, and democracy explodes

Charred remains of vehicles following the January 1 violence in Koregaon. Pic/PTI

Five human rights activists arrested in connection with the Bhima-Koregaon violence case will be kept under house arrest till September 6, the Supreme Court ordered yesterday.

While granting relief to Varavara Rao, Arun Ferreira, Vernon Gonzalves, Sudha Bhardwaj and Gautam Navlakha, the top court did not consider for now the vehement opposition of Maharashtra government challenging the locus of the petitioners, historian Romila Thapar and four others, seeking relief on their behalf, and calling them "strangers".

The Maharashtra Police had arrested them in connection with an FIR lodged following a conclave held on December 31 last year that had later triggered violence. A bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra questioned state police's move to arrest the activists nine months after the incident, saying all were reputed citizens and "stifling dissent" was not good.

"Dissent is the safety valve of democracy and if you don't allow these safety valves, it will burst," the bench, also comprising Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud, said in a packed courtroom. Taking a strong note of the submissions of the state, it said, "This (arrest) is a wider issue. Their (petitioners') problem is quelling dissent." "Nine months after Bhima-Koregaon, you go and arrest these people," the bench asked, while taking note of state's plea that they were arrested in pursuance of an FIR.

House arrests
Issuing notice to the state and its police, the bench considered the submissions of senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for the petitioners, that the arrested activists be kept in house arrest.

He said two of the five arrested - Sudha Bhardwaj and Gautam Navalakha - were currently under house arrest, following orders passed by two high courts, while the rest were on transit remand. Singhvi said the nationwide raids and arrests after nine months of registration of the FIR have had a "chilling effect" on the personal life and liberty of citizens having dissenting voice.

He said none of these five arrested people were named as accused in the FIR lodged in the Bhima-Koregaon violence.

'Strangers' in court
Additional Solicitor General Tushar Mehta and state's counsel Nishant Katneshwarkar opposed the plea and termed the petitioners as "strangers" to the litigation on the ground that the arrested accused have already taken legal recourse at various courts in the country. Without disputing the social standing of the petitioners like Romila Thapar, the law officer said "some strangers are before this court and no accused is before this court. They (petitioners) are seeking relief against arrest on their (accused) behalf".

"It is a strange argument that you stay the arrest of somebody else," Mehta said, adding "kindly hear us on the maintainability of this petition. Strangers cannot seek anticipatory bail for somebody else". Mehta also told the bench that some of these accused were earlier in jail, a contention which was opposed by the petitioners.

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