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Supreme Court Provides Relief To Patricia Mukhim, Says Free Speech Cannot Be Stifled By Filing Criminal Cases

By Sunil Garodia
First publised on 2021-03-26 10:38:35

About the Author

Sunil Garodia Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator. Author of Cyber Scams in India, Digital Arrest, The Money Trap and The Human Hack

It is not a crime to call for the protection of rights of the disadvantaged? Yet, when senior journalist Patricia Mukhim raised her voice in a Facebook post in July 2020 calling for action against nearly 25 young men (who remain unidentified till date) who beat up six non-tribal boys who were playing basketball in Shillong, a criminal case was slapped on her by the powerful Lawshotun Dorbar Shnong (village councils in Khasi and Garo societies). In her post, Mukhim had asked the state police and the chief minister to take action against the culprits.

When she did not get any relief from the Meghalaya HC, she approached the Supreme Court. In a stinging order, the apex court has set aside the order of the high court, saying that "free speech of the citizens of this country cannot be stifled by implicating them in criminal cases, unless such speech has the tendency to affect public order".

The court said that it had examined Mukhim's post thoroughly and found that Mukhim's agony was directed at the apathy shown by the Meghalaya CM, the DGP and the Dorbar Shnong of the area in not taking any action against the culprits who attacked the six youths just because they were non-tribals. The apex court also held that all citizens of India are entitled to settle anywhere in the country and get equal protection from the administration of the area.

Patricia Mukhim had said nothing in her post that could have disturbed communal harmony in Meghalaya. She just wanted non-tribals to live in peace and for that reason she wanted the culprits to be punished. Meghalaya has had successive riots directed at the so-called "outsiders" - against the Bengalis in 1979, the Nepalis in 1987, the Biharis in 1992 and the Sikhs in 2018. If the administration turns a blind eye to the transgressions of the tribals in attacking and tormenting the non-tribals, it will embolden them in carrying out more such attacks. Mukhim's post was about peace. Sadly, it was used as a weapon to harass her. Her stand has been vindicated by the Supreme Court.

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