Mumbai: Observing that no one can silence a dissenting or contrary opinion, the Bombay High Court recently passed strictures against the probe agencies, which are investigating the killings of rationalists Narendra Dabholkar and Govind Pansare.
The HC said if the probe continues in such a slow pace, then soon there will be a scenario wherein only a few persons will be free to speak and these will control the ideas of others. The HC made these observations in its orders during the hearing of a bunch of petitions seeking monitoring of the probe in the killings of these two rationalists.
While the hearing took place last week, however, the orders were uploaded on the HC website on Monday. In its orders, a bench of Justices Satyaranjan Dharmadhikari and Burgess Colabawalla said the public perception in today’s scenario is that ‘ghastly and heinous’ crimes such as the two killings, can go uninvestigated for years together.
“It is unfortunate that this court has to intervene and go into minutes of the details of the investigation brought before it in confidential reports. Today, the public perception is that crimes as ghastly and heinous as these and committed by groups or individuals opposed to the ideology of the individual involved/victim/deceased can remain uninvestigated even after nearly about six years have elapsed,” the bench observed.
The bench further said that there is no assurance, to those who apprehend that they could be the next victims of the concerned institution or individuals for opposing their thought process and ideology. “Hereafter, we will see a scenario of only a few individuals being allowed to talk and move freely and they would be controlling everybody else’s thoughts and ideas.
That will put the right of free speech and expression constitutionally guaranteed in total jeopardy,” remarked Justice Dharmadhikari. The court further said that no one can silence a dissenting voice in such a manner, the way like Pansare and Dabholkar were shot down.
“One cannot silence a contrary opinion in this manner. By the process of elimination, you cannot get over the opposition and this is precisely what is going on in the progressive states. That is the worrying factor and practically none is concerned about it,” Justice Dharmadhikari remarked.
The bench further said it cannot rule out the possibility of an impression being gained by the family members of the deceased, common public, that on account of “undue or uncalled for interference, either by the administrative or political bosses, the accused are systematically shielded and none is allowed to freely apprehend them.”
“It is that impression which has to be dispelled and if that gains ground, in the form of contra materials produced by the petitioners or the family members, then, we would have to take serious note of it,” Justice Dharmadhikari said.
The bench has posted the matter for further hearing on March 28 with a direction to the Additional Chief Secretary (Home) of the Maharashtra government. The bench has asked him to explain why the government is not worried due to the slow pace of the probe.
