After examining the FIRs cited as the basis for the externment order, the Bombay High Court noted that they primarily related to raising slogans against the government and Union Home Minister Amit Shah
MUMBAI — The Bombay High Court has quashed a one-year externment order issued by the Mumbai Police against a leader of the Socialist Democratic Party of India (SDPI). The court held that such action cannot be based merely on a person’s participation in protests and agitations against the government.
A single bench of Justice Madhav Jamdar, in an order passed on Thursday, ruled that externing Saeed Ahmad Abdul Wahid Chaudhary, general secretary of the SDPI, solely for opposing certain decisions of the Government of India infringed upon his fundamental rights, including freedom of speech and expression and the right to live with dignity.
The court’s findings underscore the limits of executive power over fundamental rights.
After perusing the petition, the judge asked why an order externing Saeed for a year was passed based on five FIRs lodged against him, mostly for staging protests against the Government of India.
“What is this? All citizens are being made slaves of the Indian Government. They cannot stage protests, they cannot agitate — what is all this? Now so many papers have been leaked. If people protest, you will slap cases. What is this? It is the right of citizens to protest,” Justice Jamdar remarked during the hearing.
“The petitioner has just raised slogans like ‘BJP Government Murdabad’, ‘Amit Shah Murdabad’. Why can’t citizens raise such slogans? Why externment orders for such slogans?” he added.
Saeed Ahmad (49) has organised morchas and dharnas against various decisions of the Central Government, including amendments to the Citizenship Act and the Gyanvapi Masjid controversy.
Justice Jamdar further observed that police cannot extern citizens merely for opposing government decisions. “Police aren’t the servants of the Chief Minister or the Prime Minister; they are public servants. I am going to impose hefty costs on your officers,” he said.
In the dictated order, Justice Jamdar said that under Articles 19 and 21 of the Constitution of India, not only do citizens have the freedom to express their opinion, but also to live with dignity. The action taken against the petitioner for merely opposing certain decisions of the Government of India affects his fundamental rights.
