PANAJI: The High Court of Bombay at Goa has set aside criminal proceedings against two persons for joining a protest in 2021, ruling that agitations are part of the democratic process and that “it would be a sad day for democracy” if the mindset of launching prosecutions to stifle agitations gains traction.
“Prosecutions must not be launched to stifle agitations that are part of the democratic process so long as people do not take the law into their own hands or indulge in violence or damage to public or private property,” the bench of chief justice Alok Arade and justice Mahesh Sonak said in their verdict of March 12.
The bench set aside the first information report (FIR) filed on January 6, 2021, in connection with the protest outside the local police station against a plan to build an Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) campus at Valpoi. The petition was filed by Manoj Parab and Rohan Kalangutkar, members of the regional Revolutionary Goans Party.
“Article 19(1)(b) of the Constitution guarantees the right to assemble peaceably and without arms. While reasonable restrictions could always be imposed on exercising this fundamental right, such right must not be diluted or stifled based upon vague charges bereft of the essential ingredients to constitute offences under the penal laws,” the bench said.
“The lines between the constitutional right to protest and the unleashing of penal prosecutions cannot be allowed to be blurred. If this mindset gains traction, it would be a sad day for democracy.”
The case follows a protest held on January 6 afternoon at Valpoi, Goa in 2021 in which Parab and Kalangutkar took part to oppose a proposal to establish an IIT in Melaulim in Valpoi.
To be sure, there was another protest in the area a few hours earlier, at about 11:30am. There were allegations that the mob turned violent, leading to police intervention and arrests of some agitators.
The bench noted that the FIR and the charge sheet, filed by the crime branch in 2023, charged the accused with provisions relating to unlawful assembly, rioting, wrongful restraint, obstructing public servant in discharge of public functions and assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty.
But the court underlined that there were no clear allegations that the petitioners had assembled or marched towards the police station with any unlawful object or with an objective to commit any crime.
“There are no allegations about the wielding of deadly weapons. There are no allegations of any actual destruction of government property or injuries to the government staff inside the police station premises. The only allegation is that the petitioners and others marched towards the police station shouting slogans. Even if the allegations are taken at their face value and accepted in their entirety, we are satisfied that no offence is made under the sections for which the petitioners have been charged,” the bench said.