All India Students' Association (AISA) national president Neha Bora on Saturday said she will not sign a peace bond, asking, "Whose 'peace' am I being asked to keep?" and asserting that such bonds were being “weaponised” to curb democratic protests.
Bora's remarks came a day after the Delhi High Court dismissed her petition challenging the peace bond notice, holding that there was sufficient material before the Special Executive Magistrate (SEM) to initiate proceedings against her and that the notice met the requirements of the law and was "not based merely on hearsay material".
The police notice, issued on October 17 under Section 126 of the BNSS, asked the student leader to appear before a SEM on October 19 and show cause as to why she should not execute a personal bond of Rs 10,000 with one surety “for keeping peace for a period of inquiry”.
Addressing a press conference at the CPI(ML) Liberation Parliamentary office in Delhi, Bora pointed to the “primary contradiction” between the executive issuing peace bonds and the Constitution guaranteeing the right to dissent.
“If we do not ask the government any questions, whose peace are we keeping?” she asked, stressing that the right to question those in power and express dissent is fundamental to a democracy.
She said AISA, the student wing of CPI(ML) Liberation, would not be part of “normalising” the signing of peace bonds, arguing that signing such bonds was “no less than” signing away the democratic right to dissent.
“On one side, the constitution gives us the right to dissent. On the other hand, such peace bonds are invoked only to detain people in the name of breach of peace. We were detained within 10 minutes of protesting at Mandi House on October 16 and told that we are in breach of peace. Peace bonds are being weaponised to curb democratic protests. Therefore, signing such peace bonds is a principally wrong decision for us. It is no less than signing away our democratic right to dissent,” Bora told reporters.
Bora asserted that the fight against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, regardless of the direction it takes, must not come at the cost of labelling the right to dissent as a threat to peace.
She remained firm on challenging such peace bonds in future, arguing that courts, the “custodians of law and constitutional morality”, must understand the contradiction they bring to the fore.
“We are hopeful that those who are custodians of law and constitutional morality – the courts – will understand this primary contradiction. They will understand that implementations of such peace bonds are snatching away our right to dissent,” Bora said.
“With this hope, we will not sign peace bonds and will keep challenging them because signing them will indicate that to curb peaceful protests such peace bonds can be invoked. AISA will not be part of normalising this. The peace cannot be only for the government, but also for the people,” she added.
Bora clarified that the court had not rejected their plea on its merits but had instead declined to examine the substance of their challenge to the notice issued by the SEM. She said the SEM could not compel people to sign anything merely by issuing show-cause notices, as the principles of natural justice applied.
“Most mediahouses reported that our challenge to the notice was rejected. The court merely said that we will not go to the merits (basis of challenging the notice) of the case, but want you to participate in the inquiry regarding notice issued. The court has said that SEM can’t make (people) sign anything by issuing show cause notices. Principles of natural justice will apply,” Bora said.
She argued that democracy was not an abstract concept, but one that informed people of their fundamental rights, including the right to vote and protest peacefully.
“Democracy is not abstract. In a country like India, people understand two boarder things by democracy – one is the right to vote and another is the right to express against any violation of our rights. Today, the right to vote is being snatched through SIR. 13 crore voters are removed from electoral rolls,” Bora said.
“Media and ground reports, along with testimonies of BLOs and two Election Commissioners, are also asking questions regarding whether the electoral process is democratic. All, including those affected by vote deletions, are asking the same thing – given the massive discrepancies – that the elections that make this country a democracy are not being conducted democratically,” she added.
Bora questioned the notion of a “breach of peace”, arguing that peaceful protesters did not constitute such a breach, while the conduct of police personnel towards them could be considered one.
“When the fundamental idea of this country – right to vote – is being attacked, protesting on streets is not only our responsibility as citizens, but also our duty. You all saw that people who came to the streets didn’t resort to any undemocratic action. The violence came from the side of the police. Security personnel deployed to handle the protest and maintain law and order resorted to using lathis. They tore women’s clothing. Journalists and media were also subjected to violence,” the AISA national president said.
“If something is called a breach of peace during this movement, it won’t be the peaceful protest by common citizens, but the behaviour of the police and security personnel towards protesters and independent media,” she added.
She questioned whether raising one's voice against injustice constituted a breach of peace, arguing that peaceful protest and constitutional remedies were the only avenues available to ordinary citizens.
“When you talk about peace – whose peace are you talking about and for whom? 13 crore people removed from voter list - should those people stay quiet? Should they not come on the streets? Is that peace? Is the exercise of the right to democratically dissent on streets by protesting a breach of peace? When people are disenfranchised in a system, the common public has only peaceful protest as a way, apart from constitutional recourse,” she said.
“People who have been disenfranchised despite valid documentation and history of voting in previous elections – is asking such questions through peaceful protest a breach of peace? What is peace then? If there is injustice, raising questions is not allowed. Is this peace? Would it be peace if questions are not raised against the government? This is the fundamental question at the heart of what we are doing right now,” she added.
(With inputs from PTI and ANI)