POINTERS OF DEVELOPMENT
A. Order to release the activist
National Security Act was pressed against the Manipur based activist- Leichombam. He was booked under the National Security Act (NSA) for a Facebook post criticising BJP leaders for advocating cow dung and cow urine as a cure for COVID.
The Supreme Court on Monday ordered for the release of Manipuri activist Erendro Leichombam, on or before 5 p.m. Monday. Subsequently, he was released at 4.45 pm – 15 minutes before the expiry of a Supreme Court deadline.
A Bench of Justices D.Y. Chandrachud and M.R. Shah said a person cannot be kept in jail even for a day for such an act. Justice Chandrachud said: “He cannot be kept in jail even for a day. We will order his release today”. The counsel for the petitioner submitted that he would press for compensation at the next hearing.
The plea was filed in Supreme Court by Leichombam’s father, L. Raghumani Singh, stating that the detention of the activist is a reprisal for his criticism against BJP leaders for advocating cow dung and cow urine as cures for Covid.
Leichombam was initially arrested on May 13 for his Facebook post on the complaint of BJP leaders. On May 17, the day he was granted bail by the local court, the district magistrate Imphal West District, detained him under the stringent NSA, which is a preventive detention law. The plea said he has already spent 45 days in custody for an “innocuous piece of speech”. The lawyer submitted that his client’s son had spent days in custody pursuant to criminal cases initiated against him followed by a spell in preventive detention after granting of bail.
“We are of the view that the continued detention of the petitioner would amount to violation of right to life and personal liberty under Article 21. We direct him to be released today by 5 pm with a personal bond of ₹ 1,000,” a two-judge bench of Justices DY Chandrachud and MR Shah said.
B. Key points under National Security Act
The National Security Act is an act that empowers the government to detain a person if the authorities are satisfied that he/she is a threat to national security or to prevent him/her from disrupting public order. Former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi brought the National Security Act in on 23 September 1980.
1. The act allows preventive detention for months
2. States or Centre can detain people from acting in a manner prejudicial to India’s security
3. A person can be detained if he/she is a threat to India’s relations with foreign countries
4. The Act is invoked to maintain public law and order
5. It empowers the government to detain foreigners and regulate his/her presence or expel him/her from India
6. The provisions in the Act are is re-notified every quarter
A person can be detained for up to 12 months without a charge. A person can be held for 10 days without being told the charges against them. The person can appeal before a high court advisory board but will not be allowed a lawyer during the trial.
