Personal Liberty, not for All

Dr Suresh Mathew Dr Suresh Mathew
23 Nov 2020

“We are a constitutional court…If we as a constitutional court do not lay down law and protect personal liberty, then who will?” Making these remarks, Supreme Court Judge D.Y. Chandrachud gave interim bail to Arnab Goswami, editor-in-chief of Republic TV, who is accused of abetment to suicide. The Judge’s words have sent out a flicker of hope. But the ground reality is different. Personal liberty is strangulated and free speech trampled upon by the government in every nook and cranny. Court after court turn a blind eye to the executive’s excesses and government’s highhandedness. But in the case of Goswami, he spent only seven days in jail. Within this short span, he could move from the lowest court to the highest court and got bail in lightning speed. As a former Chief Justice of a High Court wrote, his might be a rare case that an accused moved both the lowest and the highest courts together and apparently got a special treatment that ordinary citizens cannot even dream of. 

Compare this with some other recent cases. A journalist from Kerala, Siddique Kappan, neither flamboyant nor someone with connections in high places, was arrested without any basis while he was on his way to Hathras in U.P. to do his duty. He has been languishing in jail for over a month unable to meet even his lawyer. The case of 83-year-old Father Stan Swamy is worse. He was arrested on the charge of Maoist connection and involvement in Bhima Koregaon case though he is widely considered as a voice of the voiceless tribals in Jharkhand. He made a genuine plea in the court – he sought a straw and a sipper to enable him to drink water as he can’t hold a glass due to Parkinson’s disease. Instead of giving him immediate relief, the court has given 20 days’ time to consider his innocent plea. The case of Telugu poet Varavara Rao will melt any human heart. The octogenarian is suffering from multiple ailments like ‘heart attack, liver failure, dementia and kidney failure’ and is in jail. It took two years and several pleas by his lawyers for the court to permit him to be shifted to a hospital for 15 days for treatment. 

There are many more human rights activists and academicians like Sudha Bhardwaj, Gautam Navlakha and Anand Teltumde who are languishing in various jails and their personal liberties are in limbo. Scores of students and activists arrested in the wake of anti-CAA protests and Delhi riots continue to be behind bars for exercising their right to dissent and freedom of speech. Ironically, the BJP leaders who apparently ignited the first spark of riots are roaming freely.   

The lightning speed with which Goswami’s bail plea was considered shifts the focus to another issue. There are several cases with tremendous national importance crying for Supreme Court’s attention. The issue of constitutionality of CAA; the electoral bond issue; abrogation of Article 370; contentious issue of the government adopting the money Bill route to get laws passed in Parliament, etc. are examples from among a plethora of cases that seek urgent attention of the Supreme Court. The selective approach of courts to individual rights and personal liberty is weakening judiciary; it makes people lose their faith in its neutrality. Failure to ensure delivery of justice equally to all does not augur well for the pillar of Indian democracy. 
 

Recent Posts

Amidst whispers of combating the rampant spread of misinformation, the Government orchestrated an amendment to the IT Act
apicture Aakash
25 Mar 2024
I was pleasantly surprised to receive your letter dated March 15 in both Hindi and English. You mentioned in your letter how you have received trust and support from 140 crore people
apicture A. J. Philip
25 Mar 2024
On January 12, 2024, a couple came to the USM to invite the community to their daughter's wedding. While sitting and talking, the conversation turned to Fr. Varghese Alengaden
apicture Jacob Peenikaparambil
25 Mar 2024
The Church's response to the Indian general election in a pluralistic world should be multifaceted
apicture Dr. John Singarayar
25 Mar 2024
We have seen different ruling styles. China recently concluded its weeklong annual parliamentary meeting in Beijing in an exultant tone.
apicture Thomas Menamparampil
25 Mar 2024
Half a decade ago, a Bollywood movie took the entire industry by storm. The Manoj Kumar starrer "Roti, Kapda aur Makaan"
apicture Jaswant Kaur
25 Mar 2024
Every time, movie lovers can't wait for the release of the latest James Bond production. James Bond movies focus on the titular character, a fictional British Secret
apicture Peter Fernandes, SFX
25 Mar 2024
The supreme iconoclast, Howard Zinn, observed that there is no such thing as impartial history. Even the most conscientious historians are partial in two ways
apicture Mathew John & Annie Mathew
25 Mar 2024
Securing 87 per cent votes in the 2024 presidential election with a voter turnout of 77.5 per cent, the 71-year-old Vladimir Putin will become the President of Russia for a fifth term
apicture Sacaria Joseph
25 Mar 2024
I raise this question mainly in the backdrop of the recent installations of bishops and an Archbishop in some of the north Indian dioceses
apicture M L Satyan
25 Mar 2024