Vellore police on Monday arrested 43-year-old Haryana man Ahamuddin Hakimudeen from Vellore district of Tamil Nadu on allegations of stealing cows and selling them to slaughterhouses. As per reports, Pernambut Police intercepted a mini lorry with Andhra Pradesh registration on suspicion and found a cow inside it.
Ahamuddin, with the help of locals who spoke Hindi, he was taken to police station. There it was revealed that Ahamuddin had flown to Bengaluru where he borrowed mini lorry from his friend Shakeela in Andhra Pradesh and fixed bogus number plate before coming to Tamil Nadu to lift cows. He admitted he had stolen and sold at least 20 cows from that region. The cow belonged to one Razak who had complained that his cow, that had gone for grazing, had not returned.
In Gudiyattam, at least 10 farmers have filed police complaints that their cows had gone missing.
On interrogation, Ahamuddin confessed to flying from Haryana to various parts of South India to steal cattle and selling them to slaughterhouses. He would stay in parts of South India before flying back to his native place.
On Tuesday, the Punjab Police arrested two soldiers for their involvement in an alleged cross-border espionage network and conspiring with Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).
According to the reports, the Punjab police busted the espionage network with the arrest of two Army personnel — Sepoy Harpreet Singh and Sepoy Gurbhej Singh. The 23-year-old Sepoy Harpreet Singh from Amritsar was posted in Jammu and Kashmir’s Anantnag and belonged to 19 Rashtriya Rifles, and 23-year-old Sepoy Gurbhej Singh from Tarn Taran was working as a clerk in Kargil and belonged to 18 Sikh Light Infantry.
The Punjab Police said both the accused have been charged with spying for Pakistan’s ISI, under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Official Secrets Act. Harpreet Singh had joined the Army in 2017, while Gurbhej Singh had joined in 2015.
In a press statement, Director General of Police (DGP) Dinkar Gupta said the Jalandhar Rural Police, led by SSP Naveen Singla, had received confidential information related to the deployment and functioning of the Indian Army from a cross-border drug smuggler named Ranvir Singh, who was arrested earlier in May.
During the interrogation, Ranvir had admitted that he had obtained the documents from Harpreet. Both Harpreet and Ranvir belong to the same village and were known to each other.
The two Sikh soldiers provided classified information to Pakistan: Punjab Police
The DGP said that Ranvir motivated and lured Sepoy Harpreet Singh with financial benefits for sharing defense-related classified documents. Harpreet then involved his friend Sepoy Gurbhej in activities of espionage for monetary benefits, said DGP Gupta. He said that as Gurbhej was working as a clerk at the 121 Infantry Brigade Headquarters in Kargil, he had access to Indian Army documents containing strategic information regarding movement, deployment and other activities.
According to police, the two Gurbhej and Harpreet together shared images of more than 900 classified documents for the last six months with their accomplice Ranvir, who relayed the information to Pakistan’s ISI.
The DGP said Ranvir Singh collected classified documents from Harpreet and sent them to either the Pakistan ISI operatives directly or via another operative named Gopi, who has been identified as the main drug smuggler from Dauke village in Amritsar.
Gopi has extensive links with Pakistan-based drug-smuggling syndicates and ISI officials, said the Punjab Police Chief.
Following Ranvir Singh’s disclosures, the police have also nabbed ISI operative Gopi, who has confessed to having transferred classified documents to Pakistan-based drug smugglers to one Kothar, and an ISI operative identified as Sikander. Sikander is a drug peddler and supplies heroin, the DGP said, adding that all the pictures of the classified documents were transmitted over encrypted apps.
A number of false and misleading claims have been doing the rounds ever since Stan Swamy, an 84 year old terror accused, passed away at a hospital in Mumbai on July 5, after recently suffering from Covid. Unfortunately, such claims have been circulated widely on social media, TV channels and newspapers. Here is a fact-check.
Claim: Stan Swamy’s death is a case of judicial murder
Fact check:False
On hearing this claim, I reached out to various experts to find out the legal definition of the term “judicial murder.” It turns out that “judicial murder” is not defined in any existing Indian law or statute. In fact, the term does not appear anywhere in the Indian Constitution, a copy of which may be downloaded here from the website of the Union Ministry of Law and Justice. The term also does not appear anywhere in the Indian Penal Code, nor in the Code of Criminal Procedure.
Claim: Stan Swamy was an activist
Fact check: Misleading
The online Webster dictionary defines “activist” as a person who uses or supports strong actions (such as public protests) in support of or opposition to one side of a controversial issue. While it may be argued that Stan Swamy’s life did include such activities, this is a subjective judgement and incidental to the matter at hand. The individual in question had been arrested on charges of terrorism, under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act or the UAPA. The latter pertain to threats to the sovereignty and integrity of India, as well as efforts for a violent overthrow of the Indian state.
Claim: Modi government kept Stan Swamy in an overcrowded prison
Fact check: False
Stan Swamy had been lodged in Taloja jail near Mumbai in Maharashtra. The Taloja jail is administered by the Department of Prisons of the State of Maharashtra. My fact check revealed that the state of Maharashtra is currently ruled by a multi-party coalition that does not include the BJP. Hence, whatever the conditions in Taloja jail, it is false to say that Modi govt or any other BJP government kept him in an overcrowded prison.
Claim: Judicial system and criminal justice system were slow to take up Stan Swamy’s appeals
Fact check: Misleading
Even a cursory glance at news reports will prove that since his arrest in October 2020, Stan Swamy’s appeals have been considered in multiple courts and various levels. On Oct 23, 2020, his bail application was rejected by the special NIA court. Subsequently, on Nov 26, 2020 and on Dec 4, 2020, the special NIA court discussed the matter of his personal needs, such as a straw, sipper and warm winter clothes. This shows that his situation was constantly under consideration by the judiciary. Further, in May 2021, his case was again presented before a vacation bench of the Bombay High Court. In fact, at the time of his demise, his case was actively being heard in the High Court.
While fast or slow are subjective terms, such level of judicial scrutiny is a rare privilege for prisoners under trial in India. Approximately 70 percent of India’s jail population is currently made up of under-trial prisoners and roughly 1.6 crore criminal cases are pending in India. As such, the due process received by Stan Swamy appears to be very much above average.
Claim: Bringing Stan Swamy from Ranchi to Mumbai ignored his medical needs
Fact check: False
Mumbai is a major metropolis, with a medical infrastructure vastly superior to Ranchi. In fact, Mumbai is a global destination for medical tourism. Around 27 percent of medical tourists arriving in India go to Maharashtra, with nearly 80 percent of those headed to Mumbai. In contrast, the situation in Jharkhand is dire, with only 291 functioning Public Health Centers and just 2,800 doctors employed by the state government for a population of 3 crore people.
On July 7, veteran actor Mohammed Yusuf Khan fondly known by his screen name Dilip Kumar passes away at Hinduja Hospital in Khar, Mumbai. As per reports, he was admitted to the hospital on June 30 after complaining of breathlessness. Two brothers of the actor Aslam Khan (88) and Ehsan Khan (90) passed away last year due to complications associated with Covid-19.
Dilip Kumar made his debut in the film industry in 1944 with the film Jwar Bhata. He had some of the most iconic films in his kitty, including Kohinoor, Mughal-e-Azam, Devdas, Naya Daur, Ram Aur Shyam, among many others. He was last seen in Qila in 1998. Kumar dedicated five decades of his life to the film industry. He got married to fellow actress Saira Banu in 1966.
“The doyen of Indian film industry Mr. Dilip Kumar breathed his last today at 7.30 AM at Khar Hinduja hospital after a long and protracted illness,” the hospital said in a statement post his demise.
The social media giant Twitter temporarily restricted the account of a New Zealand academic over the weekend, for posting Tweets mocking the Chinese President, Xi Jinping and the celebrations of the 100th anniversary of CCP. Anne-Marie Brady, a professor at the University of Canterbury in New Zealand, confirmed that two of her tweets were temporarily marked ‘unavailable’ by Twitter and her account was temporarily blocked over the weekend before it was restored on Monday.
The professor, who is a vocal critic of the Communist government in China, had in her posts mocked the party’s 100th-anniversary celebrations. Brady’s tweets poked fun at the CCP government for celebrating its centenary saying that it lacked international validation.
In one tweet, Brady even went on to suggest an alternative headline for a news article about the celebrations: “Xi: it’s my Party and I’ll cry if I want to”.
This did not go down well with the microblogging site which marked her Tweets as “unavailable” and restricted her account, that too without explaining as to what prompted them to do so.
Edward Lucas, a columnist for The Times newspaper in Britain, opined that the temporary suspension was probably a result of the online campaign of complaints by Communist Party agents. This he said might have triggered an automatic response from Twitter while it investigated the complaints.
“After I had stoked a furore on Twitter and sent umpteen complaints, her account was restored,” Lucas wrote. “Less prominent victims of Chinese censorship would have scantier chances of redress.”
Thanking the journalist for his help, the professor tweeted after the restoration of her account: “Seems like @Twitter may have briefly forgotten they don’t work for Xi Jinping”.
Meanwhile, Twitter in its defence said in a statement that when it detects unusual activity from an account, it can sometimes add temporary notices until it gets confirmation from the account owner. “To set the record straight, the assertion that Twitter is in coordination with any government to suppress speech has no basis in fact whatsoever,” Twitter said, adding, “We advocate for a free, global and open internet and remain a staunch defender of freedom of expression.”
It is pertinent to note here, that several concerns have surfaced regarding censorship on Twitter related to anti-China tweets since the appointment of Fei-Fei Li as an independent director to the Board of Twitter in May 2020. Li joined Twitter after quitting as chief scientist of Google’s artificial intelligence/machine learning initiative following a controversy surrounding the tech giant’s Project Maven.
Li, is believed to be instrumental in the setting up of a Google AI lab in China suspected of involvement in Project Dragonfly touted to be a search engine that would align with the surveillance regime of China.
She has extensive ties to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), including the CCP’s United Front Work. It was reported how multiple Twitter accounts which had criticised her appointment had been suspended without rhyme or reason.
The United States Army left the Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan in the dead of night, quietly, without informing the new commander of the base as Joe Biden prepares to pull out American soldiers from the war-ravaged country. According to military officials in Afghanistan, they discovered that the US army had left more than two hours after their departure.
“We (heard) some rumor that the Americans had left Bagram … and finally by seven o’clock in the morning, we understood that it was confirmed that they had already left Bagram,” Associated Press (AP) quoted Gen. Mir Asadullah Kohistani, Bagram’s new commander, as saying.
After the US army’s departure, looters ransacked the compound as the Afghan Army had not taken control of the airfield yet. “At first we thought maybe they were Taliban,” an Afghan soldier said. He said that US officials called them later to inform “we are here at the airport in Kabul.”
According to Kohistani, the US left behind nearly 3.5 million items including tens of thousands of bottles of water, energy drinks and military ready-made meals, known as MRE’s. “When you say 3.5 million items, it is every small items, like every phone, every door knob, every window in every barracks, every door in every barracks,” Kohistani said.
Electricity was turned off 20 minutes after the American soldiers departed the base. Kohistani also stated that while the departing army took the heavy weapons with them, they left small weapons and ammunition for the Afghan troops.
Satire turns into reality
In July, 2011, popular satire website The Onion published a satirical article with the headline, “U.S. Quietly Slips Out Of Afghanistan In Dead Of Night”. In its article, it wrote, “In what officials said was the “only way” to move on from what has become a “sad and unpleasant” situation, all 100,000 U.S. military and intelligence personnel crept out of their barracks in the dead of night Sunday and quietly slipped out of Afghanistan.”
The headline of the satire on The Onion
The satire spoke of a note left by the US Army that said, “By the time you read this, we will be gone. We regret any pain this may cause you, but this was something we needed to do. We couldn’t go on like this forever.”
“We still care about you very much, but, in the end, we feel this is for the best,” the note said. “Please, just know that we are truly sorry and that we wish you all the greatest of happiness in the future.”
While the exact details of US army’s departure from Bagram Airfield may vary, reality, it seems, has a weird way of turning satire into reality.
‘Halo halo’ [proceed proceed] chanted a thousand protestors as they entered the Bahria Town in early last month. People from not just Karachi but other parts of Sindh, including Thatta, Jamshoro, Sukkur, Larkana and Hyderabad, screeching to let the world know how Pakistan is snatching away their ancestral lands.
A protest by the Sindh Action Committee against the real estate mafia, which is hand in gloves with the government, continued for nearly half an hour. A fraction from the protestors broke away to set ablaze the property of the luxurious Bahria Town. The rangers and police contingents retaliated by hurling tear gas, water cannons, rubber bullets, baton charge, arrests etc., at the protestors resulting in several injuries.
Protest at Bharia Town. Image Source: pakistandaily.com
Simultaneously, the World Sindhi Congress (WSC) held protests in London against large-scale land grabbing in Pakistan’s Sind Province, particularly the illegal occupation of Bahria Town in Karachi and the land grabbing in Sindh by the Pakistani Army and its proxies.
The speakers at the protest informed that Bahria Town, owned by Malik Riaz, spans 46,000 acres. However, the ill-fated property dazzled with state-of-the-art facilities, grand entries, pillars, facade, showrooms, restaurants and other luxuries has been made on one of the most valuable lands of indigenous Sindhi people which has been occupied by force and deceit with the support of the Pakistani state.
Bahria Town Karachi’s main gateway. Image Source: dawn.com
As a result, hundreds of years old communities have been rendered homeless, villages occupied; historical sites razed, and indigenous populations missing.
The Sindhi community says that the Pakistani state has clear designs to convert Sindhis into a minority in their historical homeland.
Pakistani Army’s Occupation in Sindh
Baharia Towns and the Defence Housing Authority are the new weapons of the Pakistan military to occupy Sindh’s land. They have not hesitated from ensuring forceful migration by booking locals on fake terrorism charges, exploiting resources, making unlawful arrests and torturing the locals. The Pakistani military is using Bahria Town and DHAs for land procurement by hook or by crook.
The matter was dragged to the Supreme Court who found the acquisition of land by Bahria Town illegal. However, making a mockery of the judicial system a fine of PKR 460 billion ($ 3 billion) was imposed on Bahria Town, thus, legalizing the land grabbing.
Land grabbed and resources plundered
With the silhouette of the replica of the Eiffel Tower in the background, “The police have been arresting our people, threatening them that they’ll show their arrest as being from places such as Wana, Mastung or Kalat,” said Kanda Khan Gabol.
“They took me into custody for several hours and only let me go when a crowd gathered and it seemed as if the highway would be closed down,” he added.
Breaking into the homes of sleeping villagers, policemen hauled off five men of the village– Din Mohammed, Abbas, Iqbal, Punno and Dadullah in their vehicles. “Not only that, along with money, jewelry and other belongings, they also took away three goats,” said Mohammed Musa. “That was a kind of warning that next time they would cart away our women as well,” he added.
This was the sequel to when a police contingent led by Inspector Khan Nawaz, had surrounded the village to force the indigenous population to vacate the land for a road to be constructed through it. Villagers were picked up in the garb of a raid when they refused to give up.
According to their families, police would not give them any information about the detained men. Local representatives told them that the price for the missing men’s freedom was to give up their land. “What choice did we have except to surrender?” asked one of the villagers.
Homes have been leveled, graveyards obliterated, fruit trees uprooted, and tube wells smashed.
“They don’t know anything else but agriculture and livestock rearing. Where will they go?” said a local rights activist.
On 13 March 2014 Faiz Mohammed’s looked on helplessly as bulldozers leveled the 56 acres of land, tilled by his father and grandfather before him, there were once hundreds of fruit trees and date palms and destroyed his tube well.
Land leveled for Bahria Town. Image Source: dawn.com
Several villagers in Jamshoro revealed that they are being forced to surrender their land at Rs70,000 per acre. This land allegedly ‘sold’ by the villagers is then purchased by individuals fronting for massive land developers in the area at Rs2,000,000 per acre. That’s an insane increase of 2,757 per cent. In many cases, even the small sum promised to the owners was not fully materialized.
Calling it the worst colonial occupation in their thousands of years of history, the Sindhi protestors said that the army wants to ‘gulp all the resources of Sindhi people including gas, oil, coal, water, islands, coastal lands, jobs.’
To ensure the vast township’s road dividers, parks and golf course continue to look lush and verdant, Karachi’s water is being diverted cutting into the already inadequate supplies to the 20-million strong city. The residents are now either dependent on exorbitantly priced tankers to get water yet another mafia or stand for hours at the communal taps.
Not just this, the greed or rather the helplessness of the Pakistani government’s to give into the demands of the mafia has led to the destruction of historical sites too. The 23,000-plus acres ‘acquired’ by Bahria Town Karachi ‘illegally’ was once home to scores of historical sites, including tombs similar to the Chawkandi necropolis near Thatta, as well as Buddhist stupas, rock carvings etc.
Now, every tomb in the path of construction has been ruthlessly demolished by bulldozers.
Ancient tombs bulldozed. Image Source: dawn.com
Historian Gul Hasan Kalmati informed that Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai the revered Sufi mystic widely regarded as the greatest poet of the Sindhi language had stayed in this area. “His takia (shrine), which was located here, was also a resting place for jogis on their way to Hinglaj Mata (the Hindu temple in Makran),” he recalled.
However, today on the spot where the Shah’s takia once stood, stand the toilets of Bahria Town Karachi’s Grand Mosque.
All this when “Sindh generates 63% of the revenue, while all the power rests in a province of Punjab, which has a 65% population in the army. Also, the language imposition of Urdu has happened, although we only speak Sindhi, which has resulted in our own languages fading out of our society,” said a local.
Provisions to gift Sindh land to China
Experts and locals see this as a move by Pakistan to gift some land to China and this will not be the first time it does so. The founder of the Jeay Sindh Freedom Movement (JSFM), Zafar Sahito, who is living in exile in New York says, “China is being allowed to exploit our natural resources, take over our industry, and farmlands without any hindrance. Sindh is being deliberately selected for industrialization by Pakistan to have its demography and resources shattered and exploited. Sindhis will soon be Chinese slaves.”
In yet another unfortunate move, the recent island development ordinance propagated by Pakistani President Arif Alvi is seen as a plan to sell off Pakistani islands to future investors or maybe even China.
There are two clauses that have resulted in an upheaval. A careful reading of the ordinance reveals that once the government takes over the islands in Sindh, located around the Pakistani port of Karachi, the police, judiciary and the local government will NOT have any jurisdiction over them. Nobody knows why a clause so unscrupulous was inserted by the Imran Khan government.
Another clause in the ordinance, which is said to be even more controversial, suggests that the federal government has the right to “sell the land” acquired through the promulgation of this ordinance. This clause has raised eyebrows as no government in the world thinks of selling land which is considered to be a national asset.
Pointing out the relevant section, Geopolitical analyst Mark Kinra says: “Section 47 under Power to dispose of land states that, ‘The Authority may retain, or may lease, sell, exchange, rent or otherwise dispose of any land vested in it’.”
“It is possible that the Pakistani government and Establishment might be planning to create mega-cities for the Chinese people or even for naval purposes, something which only time can tell. It is, therefore, obvious that they do not want the judiciary, the police or the local authorities to be poking their nose into what China is doing. And by inserting the clause of selling the land, it is once again possible that the federal government may sell off these lands and properties to big investors. For Pakistan, that big investor could be China,” Kinra added.
Khan does not seem to be very secretive about his plans. In December 2019, Khan had announced that he will sell off land and other state assets to foreign and Pakistani investors at the Dubai Expo 2020-a mega global event that was to be hosted by Emirates.
Seeing the illegal occupation on Sindh land as deja-vu, the citizens of Gilgit Baltistan (GB) say that China now controls the mines and most of the land in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir.
“With the mammoth $64 billion China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), the Pakistani government and its Establishment are ceding more territory to iron-brother China,” said a report.
In 2015, Pakistan handed over 2,000 acres of land in Gwadar, Balochistan, to China to build the Gwadar port.
People of Sindh seek liberation
“It is colonisation of Sindh by wealthy businessmen, which we reject,” said Syed Zain Shah of Sindh United Party.
“The people of Sindh are the rightful owners of their lands. They want their lands back, they want their rivers back,” said Jagdish Ahuja, also of Sindh United Party.
The demands echoed at a rally organized to mark the 117th birth anniversary of GM Syed, who is considered the founding father of ‘modern Sindhi nationalism’. Placards of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other world leaders were raised and Pre-freedom slogans were heard demanding Sindhudesh.
The people of Sindh consider themselves the descendants of the natives of the Indus Valley Civilization, whose society was shaped by the different religions and cultures in the region in the last 5000 years. They say their province was illegitimately occupied by the British Empire and then delivered to the Islamic nation of Pakistan in 1947 against the wishes of its population.
Shafi Muhammad Burfat, founder and current chairman of Jeay Sindh Muttahida Mahaz said, “Our nation believes in universal peace, unity of humanity and human development and our country has remained as an independent nation on the face of the earth for thousands of years. But today, it is enslaved by Punjabi colonialism in the name of religion and through the might of the military. The Sindhi people do not want to remain in the oppressive slavery of the terrorist state of Pakistan, and therefore, we appeal to the entire international community to step forward and support us in our struggle for national independence from the fascist theocratic Islamist terrorist state of Pakistan.”
Every High Court in India has Inherent power to pass orders to meet the ends of justice which is the ultimate goal. This power is not conferred by anyone – not even by the Constitution. It is inherent in the court.
So far as criminal law is concerned, even statute has recognized this right as provided in section 482 of the code of criminal procedure which reads “Nothing in this code shall be deemed to limit or affect the inherent powers of the High court to make such orders as may be necessary to give effect to any order under this code, or to prevent abuse of the process of any court or otherwise to secure the ends of justice”- see (Judgement of Justice Rohinton Nariman in the case of Asian Resurfacing Road Agency Vs CBI (2018) 16 SCC 299).
Hence, none, not even the Supreme Court has right to curtail / restrict / or withdraw such inherent power vested in the High Courts which are courts of record. Only pre-condition for exercising this power is that it must be exercised either (1) to prevent abuse of process of law or (2) to meet ends of justice. It is not permissible to add more conditions or stipulations which have the effect of restricting this power.
Restricting the powers of the High Courts
Some of the recent rulings of the Supreme Court, of course- reiterating earlier views in some cases – have the effect of curtailing this power by requiring the same to be exercised only “in rarest of rare cases” (equating it to cases of death sentence) or to be exercised only in exceptional cases, that it is an extraordinary power to be sparingly used.
These rulings have resulted in curtailing/restricting the powers of the High Courts without justification. These rulings are rendered on account of total lack of knowledge of ground realities regarding happenings in police stations and Magistrate Courts. The judges of Superior courts dealing with criminal matters must have practiced before Magistrate Courts at least for 2 to 3 years which enables them to gain practical experience and knowledge of activities in police stations and Magistrate courts.
Otherwise, if a judge who has no practical knowledge in criminal matters ventures to lay down guidelines sitting as a Supreme Court judge or High Court Judge purely on the basis of his knowledge acquired from text books or papers presented by eminent academicians who also totally lack practical experience, the consequence will be disastrous.
Supreme Court judges write eloquent judgments incorporating lofty ideals emphasizing the importance of personal liberty as enshrined in Article 21 of the Constitution, and evil and dangerous consequences of its deprivation. Such judgments are rendered mostly in cases of few celebrities who are lucky enough to have their cases heard by the Supreme Court directly by invoking Article 32 of the Constitution.
But an ordinary citizen is always shunted straight away to the High Court to get relief under Article 226 of the Constitution or Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, and when he approaches the High Court, he is confronted with the judgments of the Supreme Court drastically curtailing the powers of the High Courts by using expressions such as “rarest of rare cases” or “extraordinary” or “exceptional circumstances”.
If the police entertaining frivolous complaints and registering FIRs are rare events, cautioning the HCs to invoke their power only in rare cases may be justified. But, as a fact, common experience is, a substantial number of complaints filed resulting in FIRs are frivolous and vexatious and in many cases on the basis of prior understanding between the complainant and the police, mostly in disputes arising out of contracts, family disputes etc.
In many cases object is only to harass the accused and force him to come to terms with complainant or face further harassment at the hands of the police who have vast powers which they can easily misuse under protective umbrella. Power to arrest is so frequently misused, notwithstanding the noble object of amended Section 41 of the Code of Criminal procedure and also the guidelines issued by the Supreme Court in the case of Arnesh Kumar Vs State of Bihar reported in (2014) 8 SCC 273 as also in the case of D.K.Basu Vs State of WB reported in (1997) 1 SCC 416.
In fact these guidelines are rarely observed and their breach has become order of the day. In many cases, the purpose of the complainant is achieved, if accused is arrested and detained in custody for few hours (they have power to detain for 24 hours which power is generally utilized to the fullest extent either to satisfy the complainant or otherwise) Such cases of misuse are certainly not uncommon or rare.
M/s Neeharika Infrastructure Vs State of Maharastra
In recent case of M/s Neeharika Infrastructure Vs State of Maharastra D.D.13.04.2021, the Supreme Court has ruled that while dismissing petition under section 482 of the code of Criminal procedure or article 226 of the Constitution, the High Court has no power to pass such orders as directing police “not to arrest” or “not to take coercive action” in a given case. It is settled law that police need not arrest an accused merely because they have power to arrest.
Power to arrest must be exercised only if the same is absolutely necessary for the purpose of investigation. I have come across few cases when charge sheets have been filed without arresting the accused, mentioning that accused have not been arrested in the case.
If in a given case, the High Court on examining the material finds that arrest in the case is wholly unnecessary and arrest if effected will be totally unjustified, why should not the court pass such an order to meet the ends of justice even though at that stage it may not be inclined to quash the proceedings. The Supreme Court now debars the High Courts from passing of such orders on the basis of purely theoretical proposition that it amounts to interference with power of the police to investigate, which includes power to arrest.
If in a given case police intend to misuse the power to arrest in violation of the fundamental right of the citizen, who else other than High Court can protect the citizen?. (His approaching Supreme Court under Article 32 of the Constitution can only be a dream for practical reasons) Supreme Court has also injuncted the High Courts from issuing such orders as “not to take coercive action” or “not to precipitate”.
The apex court is oblivious to the need for police reforms
Apart from legal niceties involved in such orders, in large number of cases, such orders have prevented the police from abusing their power and harassing poor and innocent citizens who have rushed to the High Court seeking justice. Generally High Courts pass such orders giving brief reasons. Now the Supreme Court by its unwarranted general directions (no doubt made with good intentions but without realizing its disastrous consequences on poor and innocent litigants who cannot approach the Supreme Court) has placed embargo on the natural inherent right of the High Courts to pass such orders.
On the whole, it appears, the Supreme Court has reposed greater confidence in police, whose so called right to investigate, it wants to protect, ignoring the plight of common man who is the victim of police excesses and atrocities, indirectly expressing lack of faith in High Court judges who pass such orders only to protect the liberty of citizens. It is a case of trust deficit on the part of the Supreme Court in relation to the exercise of power by the High Courts.
The Supreme Court is oblivious to the need for police reforms and the recommendations and directions in the Prakash Singh’s case which are never implemented even after so many years. The result is, police excesses go on unabated as seen from press reports. It is felt that the Supreme Court in its anxiety to protect the so called right and power of Police to investigate appears to be in the dark on the dangerous consequence of its orders on innocent citizens, whose precious right of personal liberty is violated with impunity by the police who will now be more emboldened to continue the same with wrong notion of implied encouragement of the Supreme Court.
Why restricting the power of High Courts is not desirable
While the Supreme Court has the power, nay a duty to come down heavily on orders which are illegal, arbitrary or unjust, it is not desirable that it should making general observations restricting the power of the High Courts and other courts to pass just orders and instill in them a sort of fear and thereby deny benefit of just orders in favour of thousands of citizens in deserving cases.
The High Courts in the country pass hundreds of orders exercising power under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure or under Article 226 of the Constitution of India and there may be some erroneous orders and few may be arbitrary, unjust or even capricious. That does not justify general orders barring the courts from passing particular type of orders which they consider just and proper to meet the ends of justice.
Every such order must be tested on the touchstone of Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure viz., whether the order passed by the High Court was to prevent abuse of process or to meet the ends of justice. If a given order satisfied one of the two criteria referred to above, the order deserves to be sustained, even if the case is not a “rarest of rare case” or “exceptional one”, not giving rise to “extraordinary situation”.
Unwarranted addition of these requirements, not contemplated by law only leads to miscarriage of justice in large number of cases, apart from adding to the problem of docket explosion, which the judiciary is not in a position to check.
The Supreme Court in the recent decision in Krishnalal & others Vs.State of U.P.(D.D.08.03.2021) has made the following observation:
“The justice dispensation machinery in India is plagued with backlogs, with 70% of the pendency before the subordinate courts being on the criminal side. A significant factor in this backlog is the vast mass of frivolous litigation instituted year after year by litigants with an intent to use the courts of justice for their own mischievous ends. Curtailing such vexatious litigation is, thus a crucial step towards a more effective justice system – a step that cannot be taken without the active involvement of the lower judiciary, especially in criminal proceedings”. It further observed “that the trial judge has duty under the constitution and under Code of Criminal Procedure to identify and dispose of frivolous litigation at an early stage by exercising substantially and to the fullest extend powers conferred on him”.
Otherday, to be, exact on 01.06.2021, a Bench of the Supreme Court (comprising Dr.D.Y.Chandrachud and M.R.Shah JJ) lamented how nearly 95% of the cases listed before them on that day were frivolous cases and further observed “system becoming dysfunctional due to frivolous cases, unable to hear matters of national importance”.
This is the situation in the Supreme Court as the judges themselves say. The position in subordinate criminal courts throughout the country is no different. Institution of large number of frivolous cases has resulted in the courts being unable to give attention to the genuine criminal cases.
Having regard to heavy pendency, attempt should always be, to cut short, frivolous cases and not prolong them. While the Supreme Court was very enthusiastic in safeguarding the statutory power of the police to investigate (including power to arrest which is often misused) it has not shown similar concern to protect the inherent powers of the High courts so as to prevent abuse of process of law and to meet the ends of justice.
Conclusion
The expression “inherent power” is not capable of precise definition and its ambit and width also cannot be explained easily. Hence, Section 482 of the code of criminal procedure, while recognizing such power, has only specified the object of exercise of such power. Any exercise of such power, should be to prevent abuse of process of law or to meet the ends of justice. Inherent power is vested in such high Authority as the High Courts, and not the subordinate criminal courts, and the former can be trusted to exercise the same judicially and only in appropriate cases.
The power may have to be exercised, under varying situations and different facts and circumstances and hence may necessitate passing of variety of types of orders, to achieve the object. Therefore, the High Courts, must have the freedom, to pass such orders as may be necessary or desirable to meet the ends of justice, in a given situation.
Interest of justice requires that the Supreme court, should not curtail this (freedom) choice of the High courts, in any manner either with regard to the nature of the orders to be passed or the situations and circumstances in which they may be passed, as it is not possible to foresee or contemplate all eventualities.
Exercise of such power can be effective and meaningful to protect the liberty of a common man/ordinary litigant and save him from police excesses or other illegal actions, only if the High Courts have such freedom without restrictions. Interest of justice demands, that this position should be clarified by the Supreme court in a strongly worded judgement at the earliest.
Note: The article was authored by B.V. Acharya, senior advocate and former Advocate General, Karnataka.
Two months after the Trinamool Congress (TMC) swept the West Bengal State Legislative polls, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has announced to commemorate her election slogan in the form of ‘Khela Hobe Diwas‘.
While speaking about the matter in the state assembly, she said, “People have appreciated ‘Khela Hobe’, so we will have ‘Khela Hobe Diwas’.” Written by Debangshu Bhattacharya, Mamata Banerjee had coined the term ‘Khela hobe’ (we will have a match) as Trinamool Congress’ election slogan, ahead of the West Bengal Vidhan Sabha polls.
People have appreciated ‘Khela Hobe’, so we will have ‘Khela Hobe Diwas’: West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee in the Assembly (file pic) pic.twitter.com/ih5eIGEIKo
‘Khela Hobe’ and the weaponisation of political violence
Initially, the slogan appeared as a harmless jibe against the opposition but soon started to showcase its true colours. At the very onset, TMC members made a wall painting in Bengal wherein Mamata Banerjee was seen hitting PM Modi’s head instead of a football. During her election rallies, the West Bengal Chief Minister continued to provoke her party workers to retaliate against the central armed forces and BJP workers. Several instances of violence were thus reported during the various stages of polling.
State BJP president Dilip Ghosh alleged his convoy was attacked in Cooch Behar with not just stones and bricks but also bombs by TMC workers. The residence of scientist Govardhan Das was also ambushed by the miscreants, resulting in him being trapped in his own house along with other family members. Women in West Bengal have moved the Supreme Court narrating the details of the horrifying gang-rapes they were subjected to in the post-poll violence by the members of the ruling party. They had sought SIT probe into all the incidents as well as alleged inaction of the police.
‘Khela’ was bloody and violent in Bengal
During post-poll violence, over two dozen BJP karyakartas were killed. In a report submitted by the Group of Intellectuals and Academicians (GIA), it was mentioned that those who suffered the wrath of TMC workers after winning the elections were from marginal sections of Hindu society who had voted for the BJP. Last month, the fact-finding committee, constituted to inquire about the post-poll violence in West Bengal following a Calcutta High Court order, revealed that the violence in Bengal was not sporadic or spontaneous but well-planned and premeditated.
Sharing further details, the committee informed that many supporters of a political party were forced to flee their homes due to a targeted attack. Houses were burnt and ransacked with the victims made to give in writing that they will not support a particular political party. The members further revealed that the perpetrators also disrupted the water connection and destroyed the bridge that led to a village as the villagers supported one political party. Additionally, the victims were denied work and made to apologize for their support to the opponent party.
How Mamata Banerjee plans on celebrating post-poll violence?
When the Trinamool Congress came forward with the ‘Khela Hobe’ slogan, little did the BJP know about the lasting implication of such a game of bloodbath. The slogan, though it sounds harmless, became a war cry for Trinamool Congress goons to loot, maim, slaughter, and rape the rival BJP workers in an act of political vengeance. The more the slogan was repeated by the highest echelons of the TMC, the party’s foot soldiers were more bolstered to go about their activities unabated.
Despite being well-aware of the implications of the slogan on the lives of countless people, the West Bengal Chief Minister has decided to set aside a day to celebrate her election slogan of ‘Khela Hobe’. An elected government doesn’t represent those who voted for it but also those who didn’t. But, keeping aside all moral and ethical obligations required to run a government, the Trinamool Congress dispensation has decided to celebrate the carnage that it successfully unleashed during and after the West Bengal Vidhan Sabha polls.
A July 3 (Saturday) video of Samajwadi Party workers had emerged on social media networks after the Zila Parishad election results in which they were seen abusing Uttar Pradesh Minister Upendra Tiwari and his family. In the viral video, the SP workers were raising victory slogans that quickly shifted to obscene slogans against Tiwari, his 90-year-old mother, wife and daughters. Tiwari is Minister of State (Independent Charge) Sports & Youth Affairs and Panchayati Raj (MoS) Uttar Pradesh.
‘Shame to society & democracy’
In a statement to ANI, Upendra Tiwari said, “My 90-yr-old mother, sister, wife, daughters were verbally abused in the form of slogans. This was planned by Ambika Chaudhary & Narad Rai. They sought to vent their frustration by planning a scheme to abuse me, bringing shame to society & democracy.”
My 90-yr-old mother, sister, wife, daughters were verbally abused in form of slogans. This was planned by Ambika Chaudhary & Narad Rai. They sought to vent their frustration by planning a scheme to abuse me, bringing shame to society & democracy: UP Minister Upendra Tiwari
Tiwari’s wife, who became a target of SP workers, questioned why families of political leaders are dragged into politics. She said, “Regardless of which party you belong to, family should not be dragged into politics. This is a very disgusting act. I want to ask Akhilesh Yadav, Dimple Yadav how they (SP workers) got such liberty.”
Regardless of which party you belong to, family should not be dragged into politics. This is a very disgusting act. I want to ask Akhilesh Yadav, Dimple Yadav how they (SP workers) got such liberty: Upendra Tiwari's wife pic.twitter.com/wCU80sf8yC
UP CM’s Information Advisor Shalabh Mani Tripathi condemned the incident. He said, “these Samajwadi Party workers are openly abusing mothers and sisters of Brahmins and BJP leaders. They are angry about how they lost the elections. This is the trick of the socialists of UP, this is their face, and this is their character. People call such ‘red hats’ goons.” Tripathi shared the video of the incident in which the workers could be heard raising slogans like, “We had F***ed Upendra Tiwari’s mother”.
ब्राह्मणों और भाजपा नेताओं की मां और बहनों के खिलाफ खुलेआम हद दर्जे की घटिया गालियां बकते ये हैं समाजवादी पार्टी के कार्यकर्ता, गुस्सा इस बात का कि चुनाव कैसे हार गए, यूपी के समाजवादियों की यही चाल है, यही चेहरा है और यही चरित्र। जनता ऐसे ही थोड़े लाल टोपी वालों को गुंडा कहती है। pic.twitter.com/XVnxVH9cQ5
— Shalabh Mani Tripathi (@shalabhmani) July 4, 2021
In a follow-up tweet, he mentioned how opposition parties were trending anti-Brahmin hashtags on Twitter. He said, “See the fury of losing the election, the anarchists who abused the Brahmins in Ballia are promoting a hateful hashtag today. It is surprising that Twitter India and Manish Maheshwari didn’t see anything wrong with it.”
चुनाव हारने की बौखलाहट देखिए,बलिया में ब्राह्मणों को गालियां देने वाले अराजकवादी आज ये नफरती ट्रेंड करा रहे,हैरानी ये कि @TwitterIndia व @manishm को इसमें कुछ गलत नहीं दिखा
बेचारे ट्रेंड चलाने वालों की ‘कुंठा’ भी इतनी ज्यादा है कि उन्हें ट्रेड चला चला कर बार बार रोना पड़ता है? pic.twitter.com/C1SKYJPKpk
— Shalabh Mani Tripathi (@shalabhmani) July 5, 2021
Ballia Police arrest five accused, more arrests would follow
Ballia Police took swift action in the case and arrested five SP workers in the case.
Sanjay Kumar Yadav, Additional Superintendent of Police, Ballia, said, “A video had gone viral on social media in which a few people had used obscene language. A case has been filed on July 4 in Ballia Police Station under Section 147, 148, 149, 342, 500, 504 and 506 of the Indian Penal Code. Ten persons were named in the FIR, out of which five have already been arrested after swift action of Police.”
He further added that there were many unidentified persons in the video who were raising slogans. The police are trying to identify them. Investigation into the case is underway.
