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A THREAT TO DEMOCRACY
In the bail order for Natasha , Devangana and Asif Iqbal Tanha , the Delhi HC uses very clear language to indicate that the charge sheets of Delhi Police against these three accused persons pose a threat to democracy by seeking to criminalise protest .
In Natasha ’ s bail order , the court says : “ We are constrained to express , that it seems , that in its anxiety to suppress dissent , in the mind of the State , the line between the constitutionally guaranteed right to protest and terrorist activity seems to be getting somewhat blurred . If this mindset gains traction , it would be a sad day for democracy .”
In Devangana ’ s bail order it says : “ We are afraid , that in our opinion , shorn-off the superfluous verbiage , hyperbole and the stretched inferences drawn from them by the prosecuting agency , the factual allegations made against the appellant do not prima facie disclose the commission of any offence under sections 15 , 17 and / or 18 of the UAPA . “ We are constrained to say , that it appears , that in its anxiety to suppress dissent and in the morbid fear that matters may get out of hand , the State has blurred the line between the constitutionally guaranteed ‘ right to protest ’ and ‘ terrorist activity ’. If such blurring gains traction , democracy would be in peril .”
The Delhi Police is yet to take action against Kapil Mishra , Anurag Thakur and other BJP and RSS leaders who called upon mobs to shoot and kill protestors and led violent , armed mobs on Delhi streets .
While every UAPA prisoner must get bail in keeping with the principles outlined in the Delhi HC order , that alone will not constitute justice . Justice demands that the whole Delhi Police investigation be scrapped and replaced by a fresh investigation monitored by the Delhi HC ; that the Delhi Police officers responsible for imprisoning innocents on the basis of a charge sheet that has nothing but “ superfluous verbiage ”, be punished . Above all , each of the persons forced by the Delhi Police ’ s vindictiveness and political bias to be in prison in these pandemic times must be adequately compensated .
The requirement of being satisfied that an accused is ‘ not guilty ’ under TADA or POTA meant that the court must have reasons to prima facie exclude guilt ; whereas under UAPA the requirement of believing an accusation to be ‘ prima facie true ’ would mean that the court must have reason to prima facie accept guilt of the accused persons , even if on broad probabilities ;
The decision of the Supreme Court in Watali ( supra ) proscribes the court from delving into the merits or demerits of the evidence at the stage of deciding a bail plea ; and as a sequitur , for assessing the prima facie veracity of the accusations , the court would equally not delve into the suspicions and inferences that the prosecution may seek to draw from the evidence and other material placed with the subject charge-sheet . To bring its case within Chapter IV of the UAPA the State must , therefore , without calling upon the court to draw inferences and conclusions , show that the accusations made against the appellant prima facie disclose the commission of a ‘ terrorist act ’ or a ‘ conspiracy ’ or an ‘ act preparatory ’ to the commission of a terrorist act .
- By Com . Kavita Krishnan , ‘ The Leaflet ’, 21-06-2021
Mobilizations in Brazil
Against Bolsonaro Gain Strength and Mobilize Around 750 Thousand People
The conclusion is unanimous . The actions on June 19 for “ vaccine in the arm , food on the plate and get out Bolsonaro ,” were bigger than the mobilizations of May 29 . According to the organizers , activities were organized in around 400 cities in all of the states in the country . Despite the rain which caused the cancellation of actions in some regions , around 750,000 protesters took to the streets , 25 % more than the protests last month .
“ The discontent with the Bolsonaro government that is already manifesting in polls was also expressed on the streets . 19J mobilized more people and there were even people participating that were already vaccinated , because while 29M saw the participation of mostly youth , there were also elderly in 19J ,” explained Jessy Dayane of the national board of Levante Popular da Juventude ( Popular Youth Uprising ).
The central trade unions are also participated .
( NewsClick , 22-06-2021 )
Water Cannons on People
The protesters , led by State AAP chief Bhagwant Mann , were staging the protest against the long and unscheduled power cuts and wanted to meet the Chief Minister and submit a memorandum , demanding resolution of the crisis .
As they marched towards the CM ’ s residence , they were stopped at the barricades by the police using water cannons . The police said the protesters attempted to jump over the barricades .
Mr . Mann , addressing a gathering , said AAP volunteers have come to wake up the Congress government from its slumber . “ The people of Punjab are buying the most expensive electricity in the country at 10 per unit , but yet they are not getting it . Instead , they have to leave their homes in the heat and paddy sowing in the fields and hold sit-ins ,” he said .
Mr . Mann said the power purchase agreements signed by the previous SAD-BJP government with private thermal plants and their non-cancellation by the Congress government is the key reason behind the power crisis .
AAP senior leader and Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly Harpal Singh Cheema said due to the faulty PPAs , the State exchequer was being looted by the private power companies and the Congress and the Shiromani Akali Dal are both to be blamed for this . Mr . Cheema said the Congress has failed to keep its election promises of 2017 . “ Even today , the people of Punjab are suffering due to expensive sand , gravel , electricity , petrol and diesel ,” he said . - The Hindu , 22-06-2021
Class Struggle