"To detain Indian citizens for visiting US leaders is wrong & a matter of National Self-Respect"

"To detain Indian citizens for visiting US leaders is wrong & a matter of National Self-Respect" - High Court

Express Newsline, Mohan Kumar, August 20, 2009

The unjustified use of Section 151 of CrPC to detain people in the guise of potential threat, came under the scanner of Bombay High Court on Thursday.

On a petition filed by two activists against their illegal detention during Hillary Clinton's visit, the Court made it clear that the police cannot interfere with the liberty of an Indian citizen when some American dignitary visits the country.

The division bench of Justice Bilal Nazki & Justice A. R. Joshi on Thursday stated thatthere was a "question of Self-Respect of India as a Nation". Feroze Mithiborwala of Awami Bharat & Aslam Ghazi of Jamat-e-Islam-e-Hind had filed the petition.

After going through Section 151, which states that that the police should know of a design to commit some offence, Justice Nazki felt that there was a need to go further into the interpretation of the Section & appointed advocate N.N. Gawankar as amicus curie to assist in the case.

"Why should we punish our own citizens", he asked. "If an American citizen comes, our citizens is behind bars."

The Judge said the police can detain anybody if the Court accepted their interpretation. "You can take us also," he added.

When additional public prosecutor Dinesh Adsule argued that that the activists were detained as they were planning some demonstration, the Court retorted that this is an independent country & demonstrations are permitted in India.

The Court later adjourned the hearing for a week.