जस्टिस मार्कंडेय काटजू के फेसबुक वॉल से
Letter to Maharashtra CM on arrest of the young girl for her facebook status.
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)
Second Letter to Maharashtra CM
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 ha
ve 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
फेसबुक में आलोक दीक्षित की वॉल से
भारत में अभिव्यक्ति की आजादी कितनी सुरक्षित है इसका एक नमूना देखिये. बाला साहब ठाकरे के निधन पर एक फेसबुक यूजर Shaheen Dhada ने फेसबुक स्टेटस लिखा और उसकी दोस्त Renu Srinivasan ने उसे शेयर कर दिया. शिवसैनिक भड़क उठे और लड़की को जबरन पुलिस स्टेशन ले आए. साथ ही शाहीन के चाचा के अस्पताल पर धावा बोल दिया और हास्पिटल को बुरी तरह से बर्बाद कर दिया. शाहीन और रेनू को सारी रात पुलिस स्टेशन में बैठना पड़ा.
सुबह कोर्ट में पेशी हुई और दोनो को 14 दिनों की न्यायिक हिरासत में भेज दिया गया. बाद में दबाव पड़ने पर 15,000 रूपये की जमानत पर दोनों को छो़ड़ दिया गया.
लड़की और उनके घर वाले बुरी तरह से घबराए हुए हैं. शाहीन तो इस कदर डरी हुई है कि उसने कभी किसी सोशल नेटवर्किग प्लेटफार्म पर नहीं जाने की कसम खा ली है. शाहीन के अंकल के हास्पिटल को 10 लाख से भी ज्यादा का नुकसान हुआ है.
अब आप नीचे शाहीन के लिखे स्टेटस को पढ़िये और बताइये कि उसकी गलती क्या है. आखिर हमारी फ्रीडम आफ स्पीच आज कितनी सुरक्षित है?
"With all respect, every day, thousands of people die, but still the world moves on. Just due to one politician died a natural death, everyone just goes bonkers. They should know, we are resilient by force, not by choice. When was the last time, did anyone showed some respect or even a two-minute silence for Shaheed Bhagat Singh, Azad, Sukhdev or any of the people because of whom we are free-living Indians? Respect is earned, given, and definitely not forced. Today, Mumbai shuts down due to fear, not due to respect."
फर्स्ट पोस्ट में रपट का अंश
The most bizarre thing about the arrest of Shaheen Dhada and Renu Srinivasan on Monday over a Facebook post that questioned the wisdom of a bandh to mark Shiv Sena leader Bal Thackeray‘s death is that no laws were actually violated by the post. In tone and in content, the post is remarkably restrained, particularly when compared to the rather more incendiary messages that are commonplace on social media platforms. Nor was it even halfways defamatory in the way that many rants on Twitter and Facebook have unfortunately come to be.
पूरी रपट यहाँ
Tweets
