The Rights of the Deceased: Moral Rights Incidental to Copyright Law
- Vanshika Agrawal
- 2024-04-25
Contents hide
3 Protests for Citizenship and its female torchbearers
4 From farms to Delhi borders: Protest of ‘Annadata’
5 Article 19 and Right to Protest
Right To Protest- India has a long history of protests. Being a colony of Britain for almost 200 years, protests were an indispensable part of our freedom struggle. The people of India fought against the colonial government, its policies, and laws by expressing their views publicly through ways like staging dharnas such as Mahatma Gandhi’s satyagraha and the consequent civil disobedience movement.
Thus, it is evident that protests were an integral part of the freedom struggle which in turn contributed to the political public sphere and the Constitution of India. Even after independence, there have been many protests such as the Chipko movement, Narmada Bachao Andolan where the public registered its dissent against the system and the government. Protests are considered the hallmark of a free and democratic society that demands that the voice of the people have to be heard by those in power and any decision should be taken after proper discussion. This article examines the legality of protests and whether the Right to Protest is a fundamental right.
On December 17, 2012, the country woke up to the news of a heinous crime, the gruesome gang rape of a woman in a moving bus on the roads of Delhi. The details of the horrific crime shook the conscience of the country and thousands of people came out on roads. Protests broke out across the capital city demanding justice for Nirbhaya
(the victim was referre by this name) and women’s safety.
Nirbhaya succumbed to the injuries on December 29, 2012, and the protests intensified.[1] Around 4,000 people gather at Jantar Mantar after her death and a protest march was organize across the capital city. The fake promises by the politicians were unable to placate the protestors.
One week after the crime, a committee was constitute to examine the criminal laws and recommend amendments for enhanced & effective punishments and
quicker trials in the cases of crimes against women.
On the recommendations of the committee Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013 was enact that amende the Indian Penal Code (IPC), Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), and the Indian Evidence Act (IEA). Through the amendment the definition of rape was wide, the definition of consent was provide and the burden of proof in rape cases was shift to
the accused rather than the prosecution or the victim.
Further, it led to the creation of the Nirbhaya Fund in the 2013 annual budget, and Rs 1,000 crore was allocate for safety and
security schemes for women and other women empowerment schemes.
The Citizenship (Amendment) Act was tabled and eventually pass by both houses of parliament in December 2019. This led to nationwide protests[2] against the Act as well as the proposal of the National Register of Citizens widely known as NRC. The distinctive feature of these protests was that at every protest site the flag bearers were women. Women have always been sideline but this time they were on the frontlines, demanding to be hear and demanding change. The protests began in Assam[3] and then spread in other states including UP, Delhi, Meghalaya, etc. The primary demand of the protestors was the abrogation of the Act.
The Act was criticized on the grounds that it is discriminatory on the basis of religion and it primarily discriminates against the Muslim community. The other demand of the protestors was that the NRC should not be implemented nationwide as was implemented in Assam that declared a large number of people foreigners. The primary concern of the protestors was that Indian Muslims along with poor Indians might be render stateless and could land in detention centers. The protesters also raised concerns against authoritarianism and the crackdown by police in universities
including JMI, JNU, AMU, etc to suppress protests.
The farmer’s protests are the ongoing protests by the farmers against the three farm Acts which were recently pass by the Indian Parliament in September 2020.[4] These 3 legislations have been branded as “anti-farmer” by various farmer unions and are consider that would privatize the whole agricultural sector and thus lead to farmers living at the mercy of big corporates. However, the government still maintains that these Acts are beneficial for the farmers and would make the process of selling the product directly to big buyers effortless and the government claims
that the protestors are misinforme.
Immediately after the Acts were introduce, the protests began in Punjab. After 2 months of protests, the farmer unions initiated the ‘Dilli Chalo’ movement where a large number of farmers marched toward the capital city. On 26 November 2020, a nationwide strike was announce and according to reports, almost 250 million people took part in it. It is also estimate that about 2-3 lacs farmers are present at the Delhi borders. The government ordered the police personnel to use water cannons, batons, tear gas, etc to
prevent the farmers from entering Delhi
from various borders. At present, almost 50 farmer unions have been protesting against the three Acts.
The right to protest peacefully is provided in the Indian Constitution. Article 19(1)(1) entitles the citizens the freedom of
speech and expression and Article 19(1)(b) gives the right to peacefully assemble without arms. However, Article 19(2) also imposes reasonable restrictions on this right to peacefully assemble or protest.
These reasonable restrictions can be impose for the sovereignty and integrity of India, the security of the nation, friendly
relations with foreign States, public order, decency or morality,
or in relation to contempt of court, defamation, or incitement to an offense.[5]
In the case of Ramlila Maidan Incident v. Home Secretary, Union of India & Ors. case[6], the Supreme Court held that citizens have a fundamental right to assemble and protest peacefully and it cannot be taken away by arbitrary action of the executive or the legislature.
The Supreme Court, however, has also held in the case of Amit Sahni v. Commissioner of Police & Ors[7] that the right to protest through a fundamental right is not absolute.
As discussed above we can conclude that protests are the symbol of a free and democratic society. This is a method for
people to make the people in power hear their voices and their opinions and to reconsider the laws and policies enacted by them. Also, it points towards larger participation of the citizens in politics and the laws which are going to
affect them only. Also, the right to protest peacefully is a fundamental right as established earlier. However, it is not an absolute right and can be curtail in certain situations as provide under Article 19(2). Thus, we can conclude that the right to protest peacefully is a fundamental right of all citizens and
to dissent against the government and its policies is symbolic of a healthy democracy.
[1] Protests in India after Delhi gang-rape victim dies, BRITISH BROADCASTING CORPORATION (January 04, 2020, 4:23 PM) [2] Zoya Hasan, An anatomy of anti-CAA protests, TH, January 01, 2020
[3] Anti-CAA protests in Assam: Curfew eased off in Guwahati, Dibrugarh, FE, December 16, 2019
[4] Manjeet Sehgal, Explained! How farming has become less lucrative in Punjab, IN, December 10, 2020
[5] The Constitution of India Article 19(2)
[6] 2012 (5) SCC 1
[7] Civ App. No. 3282 of 2020
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