KOCHI: The Kerala High Court on Monday observed that the freedom of an individual to embrace a particular political ideology is an aspect of his fundamental right to personal liberty. A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Hrishikesh Roy and Justice A K Jayasankaran Nambiar made the observation while dismissing the appeal filed by the state government challenging a Single Judge’s order directing to pay a compensation of Rs 1 lakh to Shyam Balakrishnan, son of a former High Court judge, for illegal detention alleging Maoist link.
Shyam Balakrishnan was detained by the anti-naxal squad of Kerala Police from Vellamunda in Wayanad district on May 20, 2014, suspecting Maoist link. Shyam had argued that he was arrested without following any procedure and that he was living in that area for over four years along with his partner and practising ‘Yoga Sastra.’
The court said that a person cannot be persecuted merely on a suspicion that he embraced the Maoist ideology. Article 21 of the Constitution mandates that no person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to a procedure established by law. No material was produced by the state to substantiate the suspicion about Shyam Balakrishnan.
The state had submitted that there was no arrest at all and no search was conducted in the house of Shyam Balakrishnan. The Single Judge accepted the facts that the police officials had acted bonafide. Notwithstanding the finding, the Single Judge passed the judgment fixing liability on the state. The judgment was against the sovereign immunity of the government, it said.