Justice Too Late And Little

Too little, too late, Mr. Bhagwat. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has identified Indian PM Narendra Modi as one of the ‘Predators of Press Freedom’. There are still many activists and Muslims who are wrongly arrested and being denied the right to bail.

From June 25 (what a significant date!), there have been some important cases wherein the ‘accused’ have finally been released on bail. There are many left-wing activists who too have been arrested under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and sedition, both crippling laws, under which one is first guilty and in most cases, we see the court releasing them. Among the arrested liberals was Father Stan Swamy, who died in jail on July 5. Since the time of the Bhima-Koregaon arrests in 2018, none of the activists arrested have been given bail. Varavara Rao got only medical bail.

There is a pattern – all have spoken up against the system and found got themselves in trouble. They have been held under UAPA. They are first arrested, denied all rights, and then released since there is not an iota of evidence. Shockingly, the media has done the worst by them, dispatching all remnants of decency and respect of the person, causing the individual to lose all faith. However, after the individuals have been released, we see another trend – the Indian media does not cover the person’s story with the same gusto. How can they, without exposing their own role in denying the falsely arrested citizen his rights to their readers. That they have played into the hands of the Central government and the various agencies.

Now, that is a bigger crime. First of all, the biggest blot on our country is that a law like UAPA continues to exist to date. This law was enforced in 1967. It was only in 2004 that our Parliament amended it and a dedicated chapter towards punishing terrorist activities was restricted only to designated organizations. Then, after another amendment in 2019, ‘individuals’ were added as ‘terrorists’. So now, anyone who opposes the state, speaks against, organizes people to ‘topple’ the government which is integral to a democracy, is being conveniently termed as ‘terrorist activity.

In case anyone has doubts, then all those who supported India Against Corruption, make it that Cleopatra-esque, a permanent fasting-unto-death activist who admitted to me at the BKC Andolan that he supported the Bharatiya Janata Party to topple ‘gaddari’ Congress government. Now, shouldn’t Hazare, the BJP leaders, and all supporters be booked under UAPA? Since they ‘toppled’ the government? Ponder over it, because that is exactly why many Left-wing activists and students are dying in jail currently, as they have been booked under UAPA, leading to widespread criticism of the law.

According to the government data, there has been a 72 per cent increase in the number of arrests made under the UAPA in 2019, since 2015. This data also shows that of the 5,922 people arrested under this law between 2016 and 2019, only 132 were convicted, which is approximately 2 per cent of the total arrests. One would be hard-pressed to find such an informative article in our Indian mainstream media and such foreign media coverage is seen anti-India.

As per UAPA, one is NOT allowed any rights, even though getting bail is the fundamental right of every individual. Now, compare this situation to those of lynchers or Hindutva mobs who have killed/shot people, with most victims being Muslims. Bail for them is easy-peasy. Take the example of Ram Bhakt Gopal, the accused of shooting at Jamia Millia. Upon his release, he went about saying, “Jab Mulle kaate jayenge, Ram Ram chillaenge”.

Sadly, neither the Central government nor the judiciary is doing anything to curb this bias in public life. The cases drag on, but more seriously, granting bail too is biased. This is rather evident when a pattern emerges even in the judiciary, which is definitely not independent and free. Recently, while delivering the 17^th P D Desai Memorial lecture the honourable Chief Justice of India Justice N V Ramana spoke on the various principles regarding the rule of law. The CJI said, “The idea of the judiciary, as a “guardian of the Constitution, brings me to the fourth and final principle – the presence of a “strong independent judiciary”… It is therefore extremely vital to function independently and withstand all external aids and pressures. While there is a lot of discussion about the pressure from the executive, it is also imperative to start a discourse as to how social media trends can affect the institutions….. The above, however, should not be understood as meaning that judges and the judiciary need to completely dissociate from what is going on. Judges cannot stay in ‘ivory castles’ and decide questions pertaining to social issues”.

Now, in true judicial language the entire balancing act apart, the CJI has laid down what the law should be and that the judiciary needs to be independent.

We live in times of more control and less independence, be it in public life, the judiciary or the media. Let us see the first case. Akhil Gogoi, Assam legislator, and Raijor Dal president was released on bail last week. A special court of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) acquitted him of all charges in the two cases connected with the violence that had erupted in Assam over the anti-Citizenship (Amendment Act).

The second case, which speaks of how shameless and biased the agencies have been, is that of 44-year-old Bashir Ahmed Baba, a resident of Rainawari in Srinagar, who was detained as far back as over a decade ago, in 2010, from Gujarat. He was arrested under UAPA, on suspicion of being in that state for recruiting youth to send them for terrorist training in Pakistan. At the time of his arrest, the media termed him as a ‘Pepsi bomber’. He was released by a lower court in Surat and returned home after 11 years.

Take the example of two residents of Nanded, Marathwada, 38-year-old Mohammad Ilyas and 33-year-old Mohammad Irfan. They were arrested in 2012 by the anti-terrorism squad (ATS) under various charges, including UAPA. Both were benumbed upon their exoneration by a court in Mumbai of all charges, including ‘terrorism’. It took a full nine years for them to get back their freedom and come clean of all charges.

Then there is the ongoing case of the Muslim journalist 41-year-old Siddique Kappan, who was arrested in October 2020, as he tried to reach Hathras, Uttar Pradesh, to report on the gang rape case. He has been in jail for over 150 days since. Kappan was first accused of starting a caste-based riot, creating communal tension, and later, the UP police also booked him under sedition charges and UAPA. In this case, the police objected to a Muslim sympathizing with a Dalit. Mind you, these are not anecdotes.

Also Read: “Was Detained Under Due Process Of Law”: Centre On Criticism After Stan Swamy’s Death

In June this year, the Uttar Pradesh police slapped cases against three Muslim journalists for their tweets and reports on the attack of an elderly Muslim man. Rana Ayyub, Saba Naqvi, and Zubair Ahmed, and three Congress leaders, again Muslims, were booked for spreading ‘hate and enmity.

These developments should concern all since we are bound by a Constitution which the current dispensation seems to care two hoots about. This action has been criticized by all journalists’ bodies and free speech activists. The party that won with strong marketing on social media, exploiting these platforms to the fullest, is suddenly scared of others using the very same social media platforms to expose its truths. Yes, the fear factor seems to be dominating the minds of the majority rulers. Imagine, it has taken seven years for Mohan Bhagwat, the chief of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) to speak against the growing incidence of lynching in India. He said, “Those indulging in lynching are against Hindutva”. Of course, our Bharata Bhagya Vidhata has to date, not condemned any of these. Obviously, there are no government statistics on hate crimes, but since 2015, the dastardly trend of lynching has been on the rise. According to IndiaSpend, there have been 117 incidents of lynchings related to gau rakshaks (cow protectors). According to Quint, an independent news portal, 88 people have been killed in lynchings since 2015.

Too little, too late, Mr Bhagwat. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has identified Indian PM Narendra Modi as one of the ‘Predators of Press Freedom’. There are still many activists and Muslims who are wrongly arrested and being denied the right to bail.