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Supreme Court judge warns against criminalising peaceful dissent
Supreme Court judge Justice Ujjal Bhuyan said India’s democratic space is shrinking and warned against the growing tendency to criminalise peaceful dissent. Speaking at the National Law Institute University in Bhopal, he…
The Story in Brief
Supreme Court judge Justice Ujjal Bhuyan said India’s democratic space is shrinking and warned against the growing tendency to criminalise peaceful dissent. Speaking at the National Law Institute University in Bhopal, he questioned why protesting students, activists and journalists are being denied bail for extended periods. The Hindu reports that Justice Bhuyan specifically cited the arrest of eight Muslim men in Varanasi for eating chicken while breaking their Ramzan fast on a boat in the Ganga, pointing out that no law prohibits the act. He also criticised the refusal to permit a peaceful pro-Palestine demonstration in Mumbai, saying peaceful assembly cannot be curtailed merely because views are inconvenient to those in power.
The Indian Opinion
Justice Bhuyan’s speech will inevitably be branded ‘anti-government’ by loyalists and proof of a ‘shrinking democracy’ by critics. Both sides miss the point. The judge did not claim the government is illegitimate; he simply restated settled constitutional law. The real test is not what a sitting judge says in a law school but how lower courts and police act tomorrow. Will the eight Varanasi men get bail? Will Mumbai allow the next peaceful march? Those answers will tell us whether the right to dissent remains alive.
Source: thehindu.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
