New Delhi, 15th February 2021. Terming the arrest of Disa Ravi, a 21-year-old environmental activist related to Friday for Future, as illegal, the Supreme Court retired judge Justice Markandey Katju has said, “People’s Courts are the need of the hour”.
Justice Katju wrote a post on his verified Facebook Page in this regard. Full text of Justice Katju’s post is as follows –
“People’s Courts are the need of the hour
The outrageous and illegal arrest of Disha Ravi and many others who legitimately exercised their Constitutional democratic right of freedom of speech and expression and criticise the government, makes it incumbent on the people of the country to set up People’s Courts.
These dastardly, fascist acts are done shamelessly by the police, on instructions of their political masters, with impunity, with the Indian judiciary, the much flaunted ’Custodians of the Constitution’ and ‘Guardians of the Rights of the People’ usuallly turning a Nelson’s eye on them, and behaving like Bheeshma Pitamah who saw the disgraceful, public disrobing of Draupadi, but did nothing. ( see my article ‘All the times the Supreme Court turned a Nelson’s eye to injustice’ published in thewire.in ).
These People’s Courts will not be set up by Parliament or the state legislatures, but by the people themselves, using their creativity. They must try the policemen who authorise and carry out these illegal arrests and detentions, as well as their political masters who gave them such orders, and then award them harsh punishment, to be executed in the manner the people themselves decide.
There is no other way to stop these official atrocities and illegalities.
https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/disha-ravis-arrest-triggers-outrage-completely-atrocious-2370576 “
