High court verdict on 2012 persecution
Title
High Court Verdict on 2012 Persecution
Blatant Misuse of Sections 107 and 151
The extremity of persecution and brutal attacks done on HDH, can be understood by observing the circumstances, the judicial laws and the foul play of the STATE POLICE.
Section 107 deals with 'Security of keeping the peace in other case' and purports the power of the Executive Magistrate who has received information that a person is likely to commit breach of peach or disturb public tranquility in any way, and is of opinion that there is sufficient ground for proceeding, he may require such a person to show cause why he should not be ordered to execute a bond with or without sureties for keeping the peace for such period, not exceeding one year.
Section 107 does vest any power in the hands of the police to arrest.
Section 151 of Cr.P.C. deals with 'Arrest to prevent the commission of cognizable offences. According to this:
- A police officer knowing of a design to commit any cognizable offence may arrest, without orders from a Magistrate and without a warrant, the person so designing, if it appears to such officer that the commission of the offence cannot be otherwise prevented.
- directs that 'No person arrested under sub-section (1) shall be detained in custody for a period exceeding 24 hours from the time of his arrest unless his further detention is required or authorized under any other provisions of this code or of any other law for the time being in force.
Abuse of the powers under sections 107 and 151
- Historically, preventive arrest was notoriously used in India during British rule under the Bengal Regulation - III of 1818 (The Bengal State Prisoners Regulation) which empowered the government to details or arrest anybody on mere suspicion
- For instance, the arrest of Anna Hazare on August 2011 under section 1071 and 151 was unconstitutional, against democratic principles and similar to the situation during National Emergency, by the retired IPS Officer - Kiran Bedi (also Alumni of Faculty of Law, DU)
- Section 107 is a preventive section and not Punitive, hence there is no strong and legal ground for incarcerating a person unless there is no strong and legal grounds for incarcerating a person unless there has been an in-depth scrutiny of facts. In the case of His Divine Holiness, there was no scrutiny of Facts by District Magistrate, it was straight unlawful use of Section 107 Cr Pc.
CRL.P. 2973 of 2012
In the High Court of Karnataka at Bangalore, Criminal Petition No. 2973 of 2012, Sri Nithyananda Swamiji versus (1) DState of Karnataka, Bidadi Police Station, (2) Shivraj.K. President, Karnataka Nava Niramana Sene, Order date - 25 February 2013
Original order copy from official High Court Website
Original order copy from third party website
- PROCEEDINGS WERE ILLEGAL BY THE DM: Perusal of the certified copy of the proceedings before the District Magistrate would indicate illegality in the proceedings
- ILLEGAL DETENTION: The petitioner (His Divine Holiness) was arrested and petitioner to the judial custody for a period of seven days.
- DM HAD NO POWER TO REMAND HIS DIVINE HOLINESS AS THE DETENTION WAS NOT REQUIRED AND THERE WAS NO OFFENCE:
- "Reading of the sectons 107, 111, 116 and 151 of the Cr.P.C., does not indicate any power on the part of the part of the executive magistrate to remand the petitioner to judicial custody, since it is not shown his detention was required in any other case nor his detention was authorized for any of the other offence.
- Therefore the remand of the petitioner to judical custoday was without authority of law. The entire proceedings before the District magistrate, Ramanagara, initiated under Section 107 of Cr.P.C. and various orders passed therein are contrary to law and without any jurisdiction. Therefore, the FIR as well as the further proceedings taken thereon are required to be quashed
High Court verdict on His Divine Holiness vs District Magistrate & State of Karnataka
CRL.P. 3253 of 2012
In the High Court of Karnataka at Bangalore, Criminal Petition No. 3253 of 2012, Sri Nithyananda Swamiji versus (1) District Magistrate And Deputy Commissioner (Ramanagar District), (2) State of Karnataka, Bidadi Police Station, Order date - 25 February 2013
Original order copy from official High Court Website
Original order copy from third party website
- The High Court termed the arrest and proceedings that followed as "illegal". To quote the exact order, Perusal of the certified copy of the proceedings before the District Magistrate would indicate the further illegality in the proceedings.
- Based on the already established illegal FIR by the Sub-Inspector, the District Magistrate forced an arrest of His Divine Holiness, and had Him brought to his office by means of a 600-battalion paramilitary police-force. The Magistrate ordered His Divine Holiness to be produced in-front of himself. Following this the District Magistrate remanded His Divine Holiness to prison for a period of seven days.
- The High Court said that
- His Divine Holiness was remanded by the District Magistrate without authority.
- The order of District Magistrate to force His Divine Holiness to execute a interim bond worth Rs. 1,00,000 was without any authority and illegal .
- The order of District Magistrate to force His Divine Holiness to execute a interim bond without holding any enquiry was contrary to law and without jurisdiction
- There was no preliminary order as required by Section 111 of Cr.P.C., therefore, the entire proceedings before the District Magistrate , Ramanagara, initiated under Section 107 of Cr.P.C. and various orders passed therein were contrary to law and without any jurisdiction.
- The Court quashed the unlawful police action FIR in Crime No 308/2012.
Lawfare Summary
| WHAT THEY SAID | WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED |
|---|---|
| His Divine Holiness is disrupting peace of the public | Peace was disturbed inside His Divine Holiness own home. His home was vandalized and sealed |
| His Divine Holiness is "Law and Order situation" for public | Persecutors strategize and created Law and Order Situation for His Divine Holiness |
| His Divine Holiness is source of attacks | Media-militant nexus is the source of the attacks and His Divine holiness is the Victim |
| His Divine Holiness is was a threat and interference to the public | The Perpetrators were a threat and interference to His Divine holiness life |
| Entire State of Karnataka was suffering a "Law and Order Situation" because of His Divine Holiness. Therefore he needs to be arrested and put in jailed | His Divine holiness Premises was attacked by conspirators, each time and yet, neither he was protected nor they were arrested. Instead His Divine Holiness and His Disciples were arrested. |
| They arrested His Divine Holiness saying "we may create law and order situation" for the PUBLIC | They are ones who created the "Law and order situation" for His Divine Holiness in PRIVATE, that too by attacking him and his disciples. |