‘Sketchy evidence’: Disha granted bail
NEW DELHI: A Delhi court on Tuesday granted bail to climate activist Disha Ravi, saying there was “scanty” and “sketchy” evidence to back charges of sedition against her and asserting that citizens couldn’t be jailed simply because they disagreed with government policies.
Additional sessions judge Dharmender Rana released the 22-year-old activist on a personal bond of ₹1 lakh and two sureties of similar amounts, roughly 10 days after she was arrested by Delhi Police in Bengaluru for allegedly editing a social media document, or toolkit, about the ongoing farmer protest against three central laws.
The judge held that Ravi had no connection with pro-khalistani organisations, Poetic Justice Foundation (PJF) and Sikhs for Justice, and that there was not an “iota” of evidence linking her to the violence that rocked Delhi on Republic Day.
“Considering the scanty and sketchy evidence available on record, I do not find any palpable reasons to breach the general rule of bail against a 22 year old young lady, with absolutely blemish free criminal antecedents and having firm roots in the society, and send her to jail,” the judge said.
The court also said the call
[Citizens] can’t be put behind bars simply because they choose to disagree with state policies. The offence of sedition cannot be invoked to minister to the wounded vanity of the governments. DHARMENDER RANA, additional sessions judge
for any kind of violence was conspicuously absent from the toolkit, and no evidence was on record to suggest Ravi subscribed to secessionist ideas. Activists have repeatedly said the toolkit is an innocuous document used by social media campaigns for strategy and planning.
“In my considered opinion, citizens are conscience keepers of government in any democratic nation. They cannot be put behind the bars simply
because they choose to disagree with the state policies. The offence of sedition cannot be invoked to minister to the wounded vanity of the government,” the court held in its 14-page order.
The court said difference of opinion, disagreement, divergence, dissent, or for that matter, even disapprobation, are recognised legitimate tools to infuse objectivity in state policies. “An aware and assertive citizenry, in contradistinction with an indifferent or docile citizenry, is indisputably a sign of a healthy and vibrant democracy,” the order said.
As the order was read out, a visibly elated Ravi had tears in her eyes. She shook hands with two relatives in court. She was released from Tihar jail late at night. In Bengaluru, her family and friends hailed the news. “I’m feeling a sense of relief, and I’m very happy. The trust I had in the judiciary of our country has increased,” said Manjula, her mother.
Ravi, a part of the Indian wing of Fridays for Future, a global climate change movement founded by Swedish teen climate activist Greta Thunberg, was arrested on February 13 and charged with sedition, criminal conspiracy and inciting to riot. Police said Ravi, along with two other activists, created the toolkit to spread misinformation and incite unrest as part of a global conspiracy. The arrest triggered widespread outrage.
On Tuesday, the court rejected the police’s argument and said it couldn’t be presumed on “surmises or conjectures” that Ravi supported secessionist tendencies or violence, simply because she shared a platform with people who gathered to oppose the farm laws.
“The right to dissent is firmly enshrined under Article 19 of the Constitution. In my considered opinion, the freedom of speech and expression includes the right to seek a global audience. There are no geographical barriers on communication. A citizen has the fundamental rights to use the best means of imparting and receiving communication, as long as the same is permissible under the four corners of law and as such have access to audience abroad,” the court said.
The court directed Ravi to continue to cooperate with ongoing investigations, join the probe as and when summoned by the investigating officer and not leave the country without the permission of the court.
The judge said the creation of a Whatsapp group or editing a toolkit was not an offence. “Further, since the link with the said toolkit or PJF has not been found to be objectionable, mere deletion of the Whatsapp chat to destroy the evidence linking her with the toolkit and PJF, also becomes meaningless,” the court said.
The court held the January 26 tractor rally was permitted by Delhi Police and therefore there was nothing wrong in co-accused Shantanu Muluk, a Pune-based engineer, in reaching Delhi to attend the event. Muluk, and another accused, Mumbai-based lawyer Nikita Jacob, are out on pre-arrest bail.
The court said Ravi was interrogated by Delhi Police’s Special Cell for five days and placing any further restraint on her liberty on the basis of general accusation would neither be logical nor legal. The judge also cited passages from the Rig Veda and said the Indian civilization was never averse to diverse ideas.
“This 5,000-year-old civilisation of ours has never been averse to ideas from varied quarters. Even our founding father accorded due respect to the divergence of opinion by recognising the freedom of speech and expression as an inviolable fundamental right,” the court said.
The court said except for a bare assertion, no evidence was brought on record to support the contention that any violence took place at any Indian embassy after the alleged “sinister designs” of the accused and co-accused.
Talking about the toolkit, which the police said was part of a global conspiracy to defame India, the judge said he was shown two hyperlinks with links to two websites where he couldn’t find anything objectionable. He also rejected the public prosecutor’s argument that the material in the second website was “seditious” in nature.
“The imputations maybe false, exaggerated or even with a mischievous intent but the same cannot be sitgmatised being seditious unless they have tendency to foment violence,” the judge said.
He also said that the police are in the process of collecting more evidence and so they cannot be allowed to further “restrict the liberty of a citizen on the basis of propitious anticipations”.
The court noted the submission of additional solicitor general SV Raju for the police that more than 100 persons allegedly involved in the violence were arrested and interrogated by Delhi Police but no evidence was found linking Ravi to the clashes.
Activists called the order historic. “It is a historic and constitutional moment ...this is the way the judiciary is supposed to work,” environmental activist Leo Saldanha said.