The Supreme Court, in a series of judgments, had recognised dissent as a “symbol of a vibrant democracy” and held that a country becomes a jail if citizens are made to move under the “scrutinising gaze” of the police. Dissent is a symbol of a vibrant democracy. Voices in opposition cannot be muzzled by persecuting those who take up unpopular causes,” Justice D.Y. In another dissent, Justice K. Subba Rao in the 1962 Kharak Singh case said “movement under the scrutinising gaze of a policeman is not free movement. Justice Rao wrote that restrictions cannot be imposed on free speech and dissent on the basis of the “personal sensitiveness”.

Source: The Hindu December 30, 2019 14:59 UTC