SC slams UP action on student protestor
A Greater Noida magistrate had sought a Rs 5 lakh bond from the student after he was accused of mobilising students
The Supreme Court on Wednesday came down heavily on the Gautam Budh Nagar administration for issuing a preventive notice to a 20-year-old law student for allegedly spreading anti-Government propaganda and inciting fellow students to join protests at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar, asking how the executive magistrate dared to issue a notice when the Supreme Court had quashed all FIRs against students over the CJP protests and barred any future coercive action against any student. The SC said it would seek explanation from the Greater Noida executive magistrate over the issue after senior advocate Bishwajit Bhattacharyya brought the September 4 notice issued to Gautam Buddha University student (GBU) Akshat Tripathi to the bench’s attention.
“We made clear no coercive action against any student! No Magistrate could violate that order,” Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant said.
Tripathi was served a notice by the Greater Noida Executive Magistrate seeking a personal bond of `5 lakh for maintaining peace, officials said on Tuesday, adding the order was later revoked. He, however, denied the allegations and claimed that he had participated in the protest peacefully and was not attending university classes at the time. The notice was issued on September 4 under Section 130 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS).
Senior Advocate Bhattacharya mentioned the matter before a three-judge bench led by CJI Kant, asserting that an experiment was being done with the students of India, and submitted that the authorities are prima facie in contempt of court and a subsequent withdrawal cannot absolve them.
“You are absolutely right. There is no question of taking action against our youth… We have passed a clear order,” the CJI said. “We are surprised how can the magistrate dare to issue a notice when we have already annulled and directed that no action will be taken… No penal action against any student. It was a clear-cut order,” the CJI added.
The CJI asked the senior lawyer to place the facts on record and said, “We will ask for explanation. Let him explain.” The bench also comprised Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana.
The bench headed by CJI Kant had also directed the Union Government to provide, within three months, compensation to families of students who ended their lives over the NEET paper leak.
