The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on Tuesday asked the Maharashtra government to pay Rs. 50,000 each to the two Palghar girls who were detained by the police in November 2012 for making comments on Facebook after the death of Shiv Sena leader Bal Thackeray.
Their arrest, the Commission observed, was a serious violation of human rights. “The Commission has also observed that every citizen can interpret these comments as per his/her thoughts. However, these did not have any contents to attract provisions of the Information Technology Act, 2000. As per Article 19 of the Constitution of India, every individual has a right to freedom of expression, which is a Fundamental Right and therefore, their arrest was a serious violation of human rights.”
The Commission also expressed displeasure at the Maharashtra government’s lacklustre attitude.
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Having received no response to its notice and reminders to show cause why monetary relief should not be paid to the victims of human rights violation, the Commission, in its latest direction, asked the Chief Secretary of the State to submit the compliance report along with the proof of payment within four weeks failing which, it may be constrained to take recourse to coercive process under Section 13 of the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993.
Shaheen Dhada, 23, and 22-year-old Renu Srinivasan from Palghar in the neighbouring Thane district, were detained by the police after Shiv Sena activists in Palghar objected to their posts on the social media site criticising bandhs called after Mr Thackeray’s demise. After being illegally detained for nearly 10 days, they were formally arrested and immediately released on bail of Rs. 15,000.
“The Commission has held that their detention was in violation of freedom of speech and expression of views guaranteed in the Constitution of India,” the press release stated.
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