New Delhi:
Coming down heavily on the government and Delhi Police, the Supreme Court on Thursday ordered prosecution of police personnel involved in the midnight crackdown on yoga guru Baba Ramdev and his supporters in June last year. The bench of Justices BS Chauhan and Swatanter Kumar awarded a compensation of Rs 50,000 for those who suffered grievous injuries in the incident and Rs 25,000 for those with lesser injuries.
The Supreme Court passed the verdict after taking suo motu cognisance of media reports showing the brutality of police action against the followers of Ramdev who were sleeping.
Here are some extracts from the 260-page judgement:
On the Government and PoliceThe present case is a glaring example of trust deficit between the people governing and the people to be governed. Greater confidence needs to be built between the authorities in power and the public at large. Thus, I hold and direct that while I find from the evidence on record that some of the police officers/personnel were very cooperative with the members of the assembly and helped them to vacate the Ramlila Maidan while others were violent, inflicted cane injuries, threw bricks and even used tear-gas shells, causing fire on the stage and total commotion and confusion amongst the large gathering at the Ramlila Maidan. Therefore, these two classes of Police Force have to be treated differently.
On Freedom of Speech and Democratic PrinciplesThe restriction imposed on the right to freedom of speech and expression was unsupported by cogent reasons and material facts. It was an invasion of the liberties and exercise of fundamental freedoms. The members of the assembly had legal protections available to them even under the provisions of the Cr.P.C. Thus, the restriction was unreasonable and unwarrantedly executed. The action demonstrated the might of the State and was an assault on the very basic democratic values enshrined in our Constitution.
On Ramdev's "negligence"I have to take a view that in the circumstances of the case, Baba Ramdev and the office bearers of respondent No. 4 have contributed to the negligence leading to the occurrence in question and are vicariously liable for such action.
On Chidambaram and the Home MinistryThere are circumstances and reasons given by the Home Minister in his statement for making the statement that he made. The decision of the Delhi Police in the normal course of events would have a connection with the declaration made by the Ministry. Police might have acted independently or in consultation with the Ministry. Either way, there is no material before me to hold that the decision of the Ministry or the Police was mala fide in law or in fact. Upon taking into consideration the cumulative effect of the affidavits filed on record and other documentary evidence, I am unable to dispel the argument that the decision of Ministry of Home Affairs, Union of India reflected its shadow on the decision-making process and decision of the Police authorities.
On Sleep as a human rightDeprivation of sleep has tumultuous adverse effects. It causes a stir and disturbs the quiet and peace of an individual's physical state. A natural process which is inherent in a human being if disturbed obviously affects basic life. It is for this reason that if a person is deprived of sleep, the effect thereof, is treated to be torturous. To take away the right of natural rest is also therefore violation of a human right. It becomes a violation of a fundamental right when it is disturbed intentionally, unlawfully and for no justification. To arouse a person suddenly, brings about a feeling of shock and benumbness. The pressure of a sudden awakening results in almost a void of sensation. Such an action, therefore, does affect the basic life of an individual.
...Sleep is therefore, both, life and inherent liberty which cannot be taken away by any unscrupulous action. An Irish Proverb goes on to say that the beginning of health is sleep. The state of sleep has been described by Homer in the famous epic Iliad as "sleep is the twin of death". A person, therefore, cannot be presumed to be engaged in a criminal activity or an activity to disturb peace of mind when asleep. Aristotle, the great Greek philosopher has said that all men are alike when asleep. To presume that a person was scheming to disrupt public while asleep would be unjust and would be entering into the dreams of that person.