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An action as raising a black flag is free speech in a democracy...
Digital Desk: The Kerala High Court has ruled that it is not against the law and is not demeaning to protest by putting up black flags at CM Pinarayi Vijayan’s convoy. Three protestors charged with defamation, obstruction, and assault on public servants in an incident dated 2017 have had the charges thrown out of court.
It occurred in North Paravur on April 9, this year, when Simil, Phijo, and Sumesh Dayanandan squatted in front of the Chief Minister with black flags. The presiding judge of the case, Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas, ruled that as long as something is not prohibited by law, showing the black flag, which is a protested symbol, cannot be called a criminal act.
The charges of obstruction were also taken by the court, in which the court itself mentioned that it was not evidenced that the Chief Minister's convoy was hindered. The police report confirmed the speedy removal of the protestors and the fact that they did not interfere with the functions of the public servants in any way.
By the decision of Justice Thomas, such an action as raising a black flag is free speech in a democracy and cannot be identified as obstruction or defamation.
It sets a precedent for protecting other forms of protests in India, thus affirming the freedom of assembly. That, leveraging Fewings’ case, has been made in recent years; it also corresponds to the critics of the government regarding its attitude to dissent. The decision reaffirms that in a democracy, public protests cannot be suppressed.
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