Amritsar- Dal Khalsa today hailed the Supreme Court for clarifying afresh that dissent isn't sedition, hence setting the record straight. However, the organization was sceptical whether the present day governments and the police force with unbridled powers will follow and implement SC guidelines in letter and spirit. Dal Khalsa president Harpal Singh Cheema and spokesperson Kanwar Pal Singh in a statement issued to KNS said that the SC has re-articulated its earlier guidelines on the matter. They said on one side the latest judgment of the SC reinforces the already set parameters, on the other it’s a snub to those state governments and the police that damns the rule of law.They said the SC has ruled that the sedition charges can be filed if an act or acts intended to subvert the government through violent means. Ironically, most of the state governments have been overlooking these guidelines while fixing their political opponents and critics.
To drive their point home, they referred to sedition charges slapped against JNU students, Prof SAR Geelani, organizers of Sikh conclave at Chaba (Amritsar), Amnesty International (India chapter) and actor Ramya. They said the governments and the police of the respective states invoked the charges under draconian laws on flimsy grounds against these people despite being aware of the legal definition of sedition set by the Supreme Court.They further said that there were loud talks for educating the police about SC guidelines, but wondered whether the people in power would take initiative to do so as its they (rulers), who mis(use) the police and the laws to fix their adversaries. They said “We have grim hope that in the prevailing political culture of intolerance in India, the governments of the day and their handpicked police officials would respect and restore the rule of law. (KNS)