Cartoonist Aseem Trivedi arrest violated free speech: HC

The Bombay high court has not taken too kindly to the arrest of cartoonist Aseem Trivedi on charges which included sedition.

Calling the arrest an infringement of Trivedi’s freedom of speech and expression, a division bench comprising justices Dr DY Chandrachud and Amjad Sayed, which was hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by advocate Sanskar Marathe on behalf of the cartoonist, directed the police to file on October 12 an explanatory affidavit justifying their action.

The court said the police’s decision to arrest Trivedi smacked of “arbitrariness”.

Justice Chandrachud also observed that the grounds of the arrest were “frivolous”. “Why was there no application of mind before the arrest of a cartoonist? Tomorrow, you will detain filmmakers and playwrights.”

When additional public prosecutor Jayesh Yagnik informed the court that a meeting was scheduled between the police and the department of law and justice to decide whether the charge of sedition against Trivedi should be dropped, the court observed that this should have been done before his arrest.

Justice Chandrachud indicated that the court may lay down guidelines for the application of section 124A (dealing with sedition) of the Indian Penal Code in light of a judgment passed by the SC in 1962, which had held that the section could be applied only if there was a threat of public disorder or a law and order problem.