The news on the action taken on the issue of
arresting two girls for their facebook status is a joke and not enough. The Superintendent
of Police Ravindra Sengaonkar, who made the arrest on the charges based on vague
sections in the cyber law has been suspended. The First Class Judicial
Magistrate Ramchandra Bagande who seemingly may have ratified these charges, by
not throwing them out the window in the Court when they were presented and
charged a bail has been transferred.
Considering that there has been a violation of the
expression of freedom and the right to freedom, the only action being taken is
a suspension on the Superintendent and possibly he may be transferred in near.
The question is what is to prevent such police members and more across the
country from taking action again? What is the deterrent? Is a suspension
enough?
A more important issue at hand, and one that is not
been asked about, simply because it could bring in contempt of court is how did
the magistrate allow such charges to be accepted. The Judiciary has always been
the constant wall that stands up when any government official is misusing
power. And at times it has failed, and this is one of them.
Perhaps Ramchandra Bagande needs to be sent back to
law school to know a when a worthless charge
that violates the freedom of expression has been accepted, a transfer is not
enough. One day Ramchandra Bagande may be in the High Court, and be making
decision regarding whole communities, not that the freedom of a single individual
is greater than the freedom of a community.
The Government, at the end of the article the
government has to be bought into question. It is only because of public and
media pressure that action has been taken. So the deeper question is what about
the other instances which are unheard of, which are not in the public sphere,
what about them?
