AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): Supreme Court Justice Ujjal Bhuyan on Saturday expressed concern that the space for expressing differing opinions in India is steadily narrowing. He said that even lawful and peaceful forms of dissent are increasingly being treated as criminal acts.
Justice Bhuyan also criticized the growing tendency to deny bail in cases where it should ordinarily be granted. He noted that, in some instances, even after bail is granted, conditions imposed by courts can effectively encourage self-censorship and discourage individuals from freely expressing their views.
Referring to the case of a group of young men who were arrested after holding an iftar gathering on a boat in the Ganges River, Justice Bhuyan questioned the legal basis for their detention. He remarked that eating chicken biryani is not a crime and pointed out that no law prohibits consuming chicken on the Ganges. Despite this, the individuals were arrested and remained in jail for nearly three months before securing bail.
He questioned whether such an activity justified arrest and prolonged incarceration, adding that citizens are closely observing how such cases are handled by the justice system.
Justice Bhuyan also took issue with a Bombay High Court order concerning a proposed demonstration in support of Palestinians affected by the conflict in Gaza. The protest organizers, associated with the Communist Party of India (Marxist), had approached the court after the government denied them permission to hold the gathering, but their petition was dismissed.
During the hearing, the High Court observed that India has enough domestic issues requiring attention and suggested that campaigning for Gaza or Palestine was not an expression of patriotism. The court urged citizens to focus on issues within the country instead.
Calling these observations unusual, Justice Bhuyan said he found it surprising that permission for a peaceful demonstration in Mumbai's Shivaji Park was denied and that the court questioned why people wished to protest over an issue beyond India's borders.
He emphasized that India has long recognized Palestine as a sovereign state and continues to host a Palestinian embassy. Justice Bhuyan also referred to former Odisha High Court Chief Justice S. Muralidhar, who was appointed by the United Nations to investigate violence in Gaza. According to Justice Bhuyan, the resulting UN-accepted report, now publicly available, documents alleged state violence against civilians, including women, children, and the elderly.
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