The Supreme Court on Friday indicated that it would examine the larger question of violation of fundamental rights raised by Bhim Singh of the Jammu and Kashmir Panthers Party in his petition against the preventive detention of Anna Hazare, and asked him to get the anti-corruption campaigner's consent to prosecute the petition.
In his petition, Mr. Singh questioned the correctness of the Delhi Police in having taken Mr. Hazare into preventive custody from his Mayur Vihar residence. The arrest, made without warrant, under Section 151 of the Cr.P.C. was illegal and unjustified and his remand under Section 107 was illegal and unconstitutional.
When the petition came up for admission before a Bench of Justices P. Sathasivam and B.S. Chauhan, Mr. Singh said he was concerned whether the police could deal with an individual's civil liberty in this manner, in violation of all legal norms and principles.
Mr. Justice Sathasivam said his first prayer for release of Mr. Hazare had become infructuous. “We are not saying that this petition is not maintainable or that we will not issue notice, but have you taken the consent of Anna Hazare. Tomorrow, he [Mr. Hazare] may ask ‘why you are interfering with my protest'.”
Mr. Singh said, “It is not a question of the right of an individual. I am talking about the liberty and fundamental right of the entire nation and the way the fundamental rights have been violated.” He wanted to know under what authority the police kept Mr. Hazare in the Tihar jail for four days under the pretext of preventive custody.
Mr. Justice Chauhan told counsel that the court had laid down the law for preventive arrest. Mr. Justice Sathasivam made it clear that if the court were to issue notice, it would do so only to the Union Home Secretary, and Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram and Communications Minister Kapil Sibal were unnecessary parties. Mr. Singh agreed to delete the names of the two Ministers from the list of respondents and confine himself to the Home Secretary and the Delhi Police.
The Bench adjourned the hearing to September 2.
Mr. Singh said Mr. Hazare's intention to observe fast, a non-violent means, could never be the reason for the police to take him into preventive custody, fearing a breach of law and order. He sought a direction to declare Mr. Hazare's arrest and detention as a violation of Articles 19, 21 and 22 of the Constitution as well as Sections 151 and 107 of Cr.P.C.
