New
Delhi:
Four former Supreme Court judges Saturday batted for repeal of penal provision
on sedition and stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) saying
these are usually misused to stifle dissent and quell the voices which ask
questions from the government.
Referring
to the death of 84-year-old Father Stan Swamy, charged under UAPA, in jail, one
of the judges, Aftab Alam, said, “I submit, UAPA has failed us on both counts:
National security and Constitutional Freedoms.”
Justice
Alam, and fellow former judges Deepak Gupta, Madan B Lokur, and Gopal Gowda
spoke at a public discussion on a topic “Democracy, dissent and draconian law -
should UAPA and sedition law should have a place in the statute books?”
While
Justice Alam said the process of trial becomes a punishment for many in such
cases, Justice Lokur was of the view that there should be a system of
compensation for those who are wrongfully implicated and later acquitted.
Echoing
the same view, Justice Gupta expressed that these draconian laws have no place
in a democracy. Notably, Justice Gowda was of the opinion that the legislations
have now become a weapon against dissent and that they need to be abrogated.
“One
of the criticisms of the UAPA is that it has a very low rate of conviction but
a high rate of pendency. It is the process that becomes the punishment,” said
Justice Alam.
Quoting
the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data, he said that 2,361 UAPA cases
were pending in trial in 2019 out of which 113 were disposed of with conviction
in 33 cases, acquittal in 64, and discharge in 16 which brings the rate of
conviction to 29.2 percent.
“If
compared against the number of cases registered or people arrested, the rate of
conviction comes down to 2 percent, and the pendency rate increases to 98 percent,”
the former top court judge rued.
He
said that the UAPA has failed the country on two counts - national security and
constitutional freedom and must be repealed.
Concurring
with Justice Alam, Justice Gupta elaborated on the misuse of the sedition law and
UAPA and said that it has been made harsher and harsher over time and should be
shown the door as soon as possible.
“In
a democracy, dissent is essential and draconian laws have no place. In the last
few years, laws have been misused to stifle dissent and quell the voices which
ask questions from the government,” he said.
Alluding
to the death of UAPA accused Stan Swamy and arrest of a man in Manipur under
the National Security Act (NSA) for saying that cow dung is not a cure for
COVID-19, he asked if “India has become a police state”.
Meanwhile,
even though Justice Lokur agreed that there is a need to repeal the draconian
laws, he said that not only will they “never go anywhere, but National Security
Act (NSA) will also be made to be very active to quell dissent”.
He
suggested that the only remedy is accountability and compensation for those who
are acquitted after long periods of incarceration.
Further,
Justice Gowda noted that massive reforms are necessary in special security
legislations as they “reek of an authoritarian impulse which is dangerous in a
constitutional democracy”.
“Legal
reforms are imperative. Provisions in these special laws that accord impunity
to State excesses need to be repealed. Stringent guidelines need to be laid
down for the exercise of these powers,” he said.
Senior
advocate Prashant Bhushan, who also spoke at the webinar, said that UAPA and
sedition are being used to stifle dissent and crush the freedom of speech and
that the time has come to see whether they are in tune with the Constitution.
The
discussion was organised by the Campaign for Judicial Accountability and
Reforms (CJAR) and Human Rights Defenders Alert (HRDA).
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