NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed the appeal filed by the State of West Bengal govt challenging the bail granted to student leader, Sayan Lahiri, in relation to the protests over RG Kar Hospital Rape- Murder.
The bench comprising Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra rejected the West Bengal's challenge against the Calcutta High Court order directing the release of Sayan Lahiri, the alleged leader of the 'Paschim Banga Chhatra Samaj', an organization that led a call for protests and march towards the State secretariat in Nabanna.
According to the prosecution, the accused Lahiri was arrested on August 27 evening as the police said, he was actively playing the leading role in the rally which, the police said, turned violent, causing the destruction of public and private property and attacks on police officers.
After his arrest, Sayan's mother Anjali had moved the Calcutta High Court, seeking the quashing of FIRs against him and a grant of bail. To which, the Calcutta High Court had on Friday, August 30, ordered his release from police custody by 2 pm on Saturday.
Challenging this order of granting bail to Sayan, the WB govt has moved the SC seeking quashing and setting aside the HC's order.
While granting bail to Sayan, Justice Amrita Sinna, observed, that had the RG Kar incident not occurred, there would not have been the existence of the Paschim Banga Chhatra Samaj. Thousands of common people joined the protest rally. The status of the protestors cut through all barriers and boundaries. "It cannot be said with certainty that it is only at the call of the son of the petitioner there had been such a huge turnout on the public streets/roads and thoroughfares. The agitators and the protestors were out in the streets seeking justice," the HC said in its order.
While underlying that the Supreme Court permitted the police to exercise their regulatory powers, the HC, in its order, said, it would be absolutely improper if, in the guise of exercising regulatory power, indiscriminate arrests are made to create fear and terrorize the protestors by keeping them behind bars.
Granting bail to Sayan, the HC went on to add and observe that it was common knowledge that it does not take much time for a peaceful protest to turn violent. There may be various factors for such a change in the nature of the protest. It is always open for the police to take steps to regulate the protest.
The petitioner-mother, Anjali, had alleged that her son was arrested and several FIRS were registered against him.
"Such FIRs are registered within a short period of time with a view to entangle her son in criminal cases to harass him unnecessarily. As he is taking an active part in organizing protest rallies against the gruesome and brutal rape and murder of trainee medicos, thereby, the police arrested him," the plea said.
The police, in the other hand, alleged that Sayan along with other around 150 agitators assembled at Jawaharlal Nehru Road and S.N. Banerjee Road crossing commonly known as Dorinna Crossing under the banner of Paschim Banga Chhatra Samaj and called for Nabanna Abhijan. They alleged to have unlawfully assembled there without any prior permission from any competent authority, blocked the road and disrupted normal vehicular and pedestrian movement. "They allegedly raised slogans over the issue of the RG Kar Hospital incident and were violent," the police said.
Anjali in the HC, through her lawyers, argued that Sayan intended to peacefully protest against the mala fide action of the State police and a peaceful protest was organized and led by her son to the State Secretariat.
