A special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court in Guwahati on Thursday discharged Akhil Gogoi, Raijor Dal president and MLA from Sibsagar, Assam in a case related to anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) protests, and ruled that blockades unaccompanied by incitement to violence would not constitute terrorist act.
“Ordinary bandhs, blockades, shutdowns as part of some protests, unaccompanied by incitement to violence would not come under the ambit of the expression ‘threatening the economic security of India’ under section 15(1) of Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act,” the court ruled.
“Protests in a democracy are sometimes seen to take the form of blockades also, even causing inconvenience to citizens. However, it is doubtful whether such blockades for temporary periods, if unaccompanied by any incitement to violence, would constitute a terrorist act within the meaning of section 15 of UA(P) Act,” it further elaborated.
Gogoi was arrested in December 2019 on terror charges under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. Last year, he was admitted to Guwahati Medical College Hospital (GMCH) for treatment of various ailments.
Following the court order on Thursday, Gogoi walked out of hospital. Last week, he was discharged in the other case filed against him by the NIA.
This case against Gogoi and three others, Dhajya Konwar, Manas Konwar and Bitu Sonowal, was registered in December 2019 at Chandmari police station in Guwahati and was subsequently transferred to the NIA. Apart from Gogoi, all three other accused were out on bail.
The NIA had filed two cases against Gogoi under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the UA (P) A.
The cases were registered for charges like criminal conspiracy, sedition, promoting enmity between groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language among others, assertions against national integrity and support to terrorist organisations.
In the cases, Gogoi was alleged to have secretly merged his organization, Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS), a farmers’ rights body, with the Revolutionary Communist Centre, which in turn was later amalgamated with the banned terror outfit Communist Party of India (Maoist).
Gogoi and the other accused allegedly conspired to incite hatred and disaffection towards the government established by law, using the passage of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) as a pretext and also promote enmity between different groups of people.
The court order discharging Gogoi and others came when the case was at the the stage of framing of charges.
“On the basis of materials before this court and in view of the narration and discussion in preceding paragraphs and findings thereon, all the four accused persons are hereby discharged,” ordered the court.
It further said, “There are no prima facie materials to frame charges against the accused person. There is no case of framing charge and all the four accused persons are liable to be discharged.”
The court also noted that the conduct and approach of the NIA and the prosecution in the presented case was “discouraging” to say the least.
“Considering the nature of UA(P) Act, while enforcing this law on the ground, the law enforcing agencies have to take care to see that the enforcement remains within the strict parameters of the law and doesn’t get stretched beyond permissible limits imposed by the statute itself,” the order underscored.
The court further observed if precaution is not taken by the enforcement agencies, people who are not guilty of terrorism or might be guilty of other penal offences might get unnecessarily roped within the ambit of the stringent anti-terrorism law.
After being discharged from the case, Gogoi said, “It was unimaginable that the court would deliver such a free and fair verdict under such pressure from the government. It shows that the judiciary is still independent and the public can have faith in it.”