Latest news with #NationalCouncilforCivilLiberties
Scroll.in
25-04-2025
- Politics
- Scroll.in
Activist Medha Patkar arrested, released hours later in 24-year-old defamation case
Activist and Narmada Bachao Andolan leader Medha Patkar was released from custody on Friday hours after being arrested by the police in a 24-year-old defamation case filed by Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena, The Indian Express reported. This came two days after a Delhi court issued a non-bailable warrant against Patkar for not furnishing probation bonds in the case. The case was filed in 2001, when Saxena was heading the Ahmedabad-based non-governmental organisation National Council for Civil Liberties. Saxena alleged that Patkar had defamed him in a press note titled 'True face of patriot', which the activist had issued on November 25, 2000. On Friday, Additional Sessions Judge Vipin Kharb of Saket Court directed the Delhi Police to release Patkar and allow her to furnish the bail bonds. In May, Patkar was convicted in the case. She was found guilty of criminal defamation under section 500 of the Indian Penal Code and was liable to serve two years' jail time, pay a fine, or both. On April 8, Additional Sessions Judge Vishal Singh had granted Patkar one year's probation in the case, noting that the offence she had committed was not grave enough to warrant imprisonment. Patkar was expected to appear before the court on Wednesday, furnish probation bonds and deposit a fine of Rs 1 lakh. As the activist did not appear in court or comply with other orders, the judge on Wednesday said that Patkar was deliberately violating the directions and issued a non-bailable warrant. Patkar's release on Friday came after her counsel told the court that the probation order was still valid, The Indian Express reported. The activist will furnish the probation bonds on Friday, said the lawyer. The case was filed in an Ahmedabad court and transferred to the chief metropolitan magistrate's court in Delhi in 2003. Patkar pleaded not guilty to the charges in 2013. The judgement passed in May had said that Patkar's press note was a direct attack on Saxena's personal character and loyalty to the nation. The court also observed that Patkar had accused Saxena of 'mortgaging the people of Gujarat and their resources to foreign interests' and held the allegation to be a 'direct attack' on his integrity and public service. 'Such allegations are particularly grave in the public sphere, where patriotism is highly valued, and questioning someone's courage and national loyalty can cause irreversible damage to their public image and social standing,' the court had said.
Scroll.in
23-04-2025
- Politics
- Scroll.in
Delhi court issues non-bailable warrant against activist Medha Patkar in VK Saxena defamation case
A Delhi court on Wednesday issued a non-bailable warrant against activist and Narmada Bachao Andolan leader Medha Patkar in a 24-year-old defamation case filed by Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena, reported Live Law. The case was filed in 2001, when Saxena was heading the Ahmedabad-based non-governmental organisation National Council for Civil Liberties. Saxena alleged that Patkar had defamed him in a press note titled 'True face of patriot', which the activist had issued on November 25, 2000. On May 24, Patkar was convicted in the case. She was found guilty of criminal defamation under Section 500 of the Indian Penal Code and was liable to serve two years' jail time, pay a fine, or both. Additional Sessions Judge Vishal Singh granted Patkar one year's probation in the case on April 8, noting that the offence she had committed was not grave enough to warrant imprisonment, reported The Indian Express. Patkar was expected to appear before the court on Wednesday, furnish probation bonds and deposit a fine of Rs 1 lakh. As the activist did not appear in court or comply with other orders, Singh said that she was deliberately violating the directions, reported Live Law. The case has been listed for May 3. The case was filed in an Ahmedabad court and transferred to the chief metropolitan magistrate's court in Delhi in 2003. Patkar pleaded not guilty to the charges in 2013. The judgement passed on May 24 had said that Patkar's press note was a direct attack on Saxena's personal character and loyalty to the nation. The court also observed that Patkar had accused Saxena of 'mortgaging the people of Gujarat and their resources to foreign interests' and held the allegation to be a 'direct attack' on his integrity and public service. 'Such allegations are particularly grave in the public sphere, where patriotism is highly valued, and questioning someone's courage and national loyalty can cause irreversible damage to their public image and social standing,' the court had said.
The Guardian
11-03-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Police admit arrest of anti-monarchy heckler in Oxford was unlawful
Police have admitted acting unlawfully in arresting a trainee Baptist minister who called out 'Who elected him?' at a local proclamation of the accession of King Charles III. After a two-and-a-half-year battle, Symon Hill, 47, has been paid £2,500 in compensation from Thames Valley police over his arrest in September 2022. Hill had been returning home from his church in Oxford on a Sunday morning, three days after the death of Queen Elizabeth II, when he found his way blocked by a procession to proclaim King Charles. He asked local police officers how he could avoid the crowds and mentioned in conversation that he disagreed with the veneration of an unelected head of state. 'They got a bit defensive about it,' said Hill. 'One asked, 'Why are you here if you don't agree with it?' I was just going home.' Charles was then declared our 'only' king and 'rightful liege lord'. 'Who elected him?' Hill called out from the back of the crowd. A couple of people told Hill to shut up and he responded that a head of state was being imposed without the country's explicit consent. Three security guards appeared and ordered Hill to be quiet. He said he argued back at which point a number of police officers 'swooped in'. Hill was handcuffed and led away, as strangers challenged the right of the police to detain someone for voicing an opinion even if it was one with which they disagreed. In police body-worn camera footage shared during the legal challenge, officers are heard saying: 'But we do need to fine or de-arrest as we will get a complaint off the back of this.' Hill was subsequently released but later asked to voluntarily attend a police station. 'I was made aware then that it wasn't so voluntary so I did go to the police station,' he said. He was ultimately charged under the Public Order Act with 'threatening or abusive words or behaviour'. The charges were dropped on 5 January 2023 by the Crown Prosecution Service due to insufficient evidence. Hill, who is a chaplain at Aston University in Birmingham, said he had been 'surprised' by the entire affair and by the two-and-a-half years it had taken for the police to admit their mistake. Sign up to First Edition Our morning email breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what's happening and why it matters after newsletter promotion He said: 'Opposing the monarchy is not a crime. I'm very conscious that most people who are wrongly arrested are not able to take legal action. 'This is not just about me. It never has been. It is about the rights of all people to dissent, to express their views, to refuse to bow down, to assert the dignity and equality of all human beings. 'With the vague anti-protest laws as they are, anybody could face arrest for expressing an opinion in a public space. The law must be changed and the police must be held to account.' Hill, who has a history of peace activism and protest, was supported in his legal action by the National Council for Civil Liberties, also known as Liberty. Katy Watts, a lawyer at Liberty, said: 'We must be able to raise our voices on the issues that matter to us. A functioning democracy relies on the ability to voice different opinions and discuss them in public spaces. Symon's wrongful arrest shows how broad anti-protest laws are shutting down people's freedom of expression. 'We must urgently see a review of the broad anti-protest legislation to ensure that what happened to Symon cannot be allowed to happen again.' Thames Valley police's deputy chief constable, Ben Snuggs, said: 'Thames Valley police has settled a claim with Mr Hill and has accepted that the grounds of the offence for which he was arrested were unlawful. 'Public order and public safety operations are a key part of policing and it's important we use these circumstances to help shape our future response.'
