On Friday the Bombay High Court criticised the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation for the demolition of Bollywood actor Kangana Ranaut's bungalow earlier this year. Calling the action "bad in law and unauthorized", the court has appointed a valuer to inspect the bungalow site and set compensation which will be paid by BMC. At the same time, the Court also asked Kangana to exercise restraint while making "loose and irresponsible statements".
Around the same time today, the Supreme Court of India said that the interim bail granted to journalist Arnab Goswami and two others in an abetment to suicide case will continue till the Bombay High Court disposes of their plea, and stated that the judiciary should ensure criminal law does not become a weapon for selective harassment. The top court had granted interim bail to Arnab Goswami on November 11, saying it will be "travesty of justice" if personal liberty is curtailed.
Soon after the verdicts, former Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis took to Twitter stating that the recent decisions should be an "eye opener" for the Maha Vikas Aghadi government. While he had not named anyone in the tweets, these are the only two cases that fit the bill.
"The judgements pronounced by Hon SC and Hon Mumbai HC is a tight slap on the MVA Government. This should be an eye opener for this MVA Govt which should realise that they cannot suppress and silence every voice raised against them the way they did recently, by the abuse of power," he tweeted.
In a follow-up tweet, Fadnavis reminded that India was a democracy where police force or criminal law "can never be used as a weapon for selective harassment of citizens".
"But if this needs to be reminded to them by the courts, then where is the Constitutional Oath and their conscience?" he asked.
"Judgements by two different courts, on the very next day we celebrated our Constitution Day, in a way, aptly describes the hopeless journey and achievements of the MVA government of their first year!" he added.
(With inputs from Narsi Benwal and agencies)
