Deprecated (16384): The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 150
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php. [CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311]
Deprecated (16384): The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 151
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php. [CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311]
Warning (512): Unable to emit headers. Headers sent in file=/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php line=853 [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 48]
Warning (2): Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php:853) [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 148]
Warning (2): Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php:853) [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 181]
LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Anti-corruption cartoonist arrested for sedition in Mumbai -Vijay V Singh & Rebecca Samervel

Anti-corruption cartoonist arrested for sedition in Mumbai -Vijay V Singh & Rebecca Samervel

Share this article Share this article
published Published on Sep 10, 2012   modified Modified on Sep 10, 2012
-The Times of India

MUMBAI: Kanpur-based cartoonist Aseem Trivedi (25), who surrendered to the BKC police on Saturday, was remanded in seven days' police custody by the Bandra holiday court on Sunday. Charged with sedition for insulting national symbols through his cartoons, he refused to engage a lawyer in protest. The cartoons in question are on the theme Cartoons Against Corruption and one of them depicts the national emblem as comprising wolves in place of lions and the slogan Bhrashtameva Jayate in place of Satyameva Jayate.

The complaint against Trivedi was filed by a Mumbai-based lawyer at the Bandra Kurla Complex police station last December under the Indian Penal Code's section 124 (sedition), the Information Technology Act's section 66-A (sending offensive messages through communication services) and the Prevention of Insults to Nation Honour (PINH) Act's section 2 (imprisonment for disrespect to the national flag or the constitution or any part thereof).

Trivedi's friends said the police action was politically motivated. "Aseem told us the government targeted him because he supported Anna Hazare in his fight against corruption," said a friend.

The police were treating Aseem like a criminal, said a friend, activist Alok Dixit. "He decided not to engage an advocate and wants to let the court decide. He maintains he is not wrong. That is why he does not see a need to defend himself."

Former judges, lawyers and civil rights activists criticized the police for the development, in particular the custodial duration. "This is a very rare instance where such a thing has happened," said activist and advocate Mihir Desai. Observing that the case was not maintainable, high court Justice (retd) H Suresh said, "The charge of sedition is patently misused. In this case, what is sedition? Moreover, custody of seven days is fundamentally wrong (in this case). What further investigations will be conducted while keeping him in custody? The cartoons, which speak for themselves, are investigation enough."

Former IPS officer and now lawyer Y P Singh said that as per a Supreme Court ruling, arrests need not be made in cases of a technical nature. "The action of the police, which may not be legally incorrect, has certainly been undesirable. The police have acted in an excessive manner by applying sedition charges. At best, a weak case could have been made under the PINH Act.

"Further, to arrest a person on a weekend and produce him in court on a Sunday is regarded as mischievous. That is because if a matter is regarded as serious, it needs to be deliberated on in a regular court and not a holiday court."

Last month, a team of the BKC police went to Kanpur to look for Trivedi. Its members questioned his father for a few hours on August 30 at a local police station, causing him mental harassment, according to Trivedi's friends. When the cartoonist learned about this, he tried to contact the team, but its members did not respond to his calls, the friends said.

On Saturday, Trivedi went to the BKC police station to surrender and also inquire about the case. He was put in lockup for the night, and his friends and India Against Corruption members were not allowed to meet him, a friend alleged.

Trivedi was produced in court on Sunday afternoon. When the magistrate asked him about his advocate, he said he was not engaging one. The prosecutor informed the court that Trivedi had insulted the national emblem in a cartoon and displayed it during a Hazare rally at the MMRDA ground and on his website. The court then gave the police Trivedi's custody. The next hearing is on September 16.


The Times of India, 10 September, 2012, http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/Anti-corruption-cartoonist-arrested-for-sedition-in-Mumbai/articleshow/16328947.cms


Related Articles

 

Write Comments

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*

Video Archives

Archives

share on Facebook
Twitter
RSS
Feedback
Read Later

Contact Form

Please enter security code
      Close