The Supreme Court has barred Tripura police from taking action against four students who had posted on social media last year against alleged violence in the state. A bench of Judges DY Chandrachud and Surya Kant approved the injunction in four separate petitions filed by these people and labeled all of them with the pending petitions in the case.
“Pending further injunctions, further proceedings will be suspended in case Nodated November 3, 2021, West Agartala Police Station, Tripura,” the bank ordered on Friday. Advocate Sharukh Alam, who appeared before the petitioners, said notices under section 41A of CrPC have been sent to these four people who are students for their tweets about Tripura riots.
She argued that the court had previously protected several people for their similar action. The bank said: “We will publicize and label these petitions and stop the police from going any further.” It asked if there is a common FIR against these four students, to which Alam replied in the affirmative. On February 7, the highest court ordered Tripura Police to message people for social media posts about alleged violence in the community in the state, despite the interim restraining order.
It had warned state counsel that if the Tripura police do not fail to harass people, they will summon the interior minister and the police officers involved. The Supreme Court then heard a plea filed by journalist Samiullah Shabbir Khan against a notice from the Tripura Police Force requesting him to appear under Section 41A (Police Officer Notice) of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
The highest court on Jan. 10 had prevented Tripura police from acting on its report to Twitter Inc regarding a journalist’s tweet about alleged violence in the community in the state. On November 17 last year, the highest court ordered the Tripura police not to take coercive measures against the three members of civil society, including a journalist, in connection with an FIR filed under the strict UAPA provisions against them for alleged facts via social media. reports of targeted violence against the minority community in the state.
The three individuals, who were part of a commission of inquiry, have also challenged the constitutional validity of some provisions of the 1967 Prevention of Illegal Activities Act on the grounds that the definition of illegal activities is vague and broad; moreover, the statute makes it very difficult to grant bail to suspects. The FIR took note of a tweet from one of the civil society members who had stated that “Tripura is on fire”.
Last year, the northeastern state witnessed arson, looting and violence after reports came from Bangladesh that the Hindu minorities there had been attacked during Durga Puja on charges of blasphemy.
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