The state legislature session in Belagavi that concluded on Thursday will go down as the most shameful if BJP lawmaker CT Ravi had indeed made the alleged obscene remark on Women and Child Development Minister Laxmi Hebbalkar. It would be a black mark on the state legislature. There is no justification for such conduct. However, Ravi has denied the allegations and the investigation is under way. The law must take its course.
The events that followed soon after the Legislative Council proceedings adjourned sine die raise several pertinent questions, especially about the police action.
First, the visuals of the minister’s supporters, including her assistant, chasing and charging at the lawmaker in the corridors of the Suvarna Vidhana Soudha showed a total breakdown of the system. Marshals had a tough time controlling them and protecting the MLC. Understandably, tempers run high in such situations. But letting people take the law into their own hands inside the Vidhana Soudha premises reflects poorly on the whole system.
Subsequently, based on a complaint by the minister’s assistant, Belagavi police registered an FIR under sections 75 and 79 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and arrested Ravi in the evening. Until the next morning when he was produced before court, he was not kept at any police station or a safe place but was driven around in the district in a police vehicle.
Soon after he was released on the High Court’s directions, Ravi made a serious allegation against the police that he was driven around for 8 to 10 hours across four districts and stopped at isolated places. He also claimed that though he was bleeding due to injury on his forehead, the police took several hours to get him treated.
In the first place, why was the MLC driven in a police vehicle all night? What was the need for the police to take him to any place in the middle of the night when the alleged offence was committed in the Council? Was it done with the knowledge of the top police officers in Bengaluru? Were Home Minister G Parameshwara, DyCM DK Shivakumar and Chief Minister Siddaramaiah kept in the loop? It is unlikely that the local police would have acted on their own as the person involved was a former minister and MLC.
The local police officers might justify their action claiming it was done to ensure Ravi’s safety as Hebbalkar’s followers were gathering near the police stations where they took him. If that is the police’s claim, it is even worse. Can’t the police ensure the safety of a person inside the police station instead of driving him around all night?
Former State DG & IGP ST Ramesh says in the absence of firsthand information about the developments in the case, it is difficult to arrive at any conclusion, but the police action gives scope for speculation; whether their actions are genuine or just an excuse for ill-treating him.
In the DK Basu case, the Supreme Court laid down detailed guidelines to be followed during any arrest in a cognizable case. Subsequently, the Apex Court added more guidelines, including providing a written memo to the person being arrested. Unfortunately, the guidelines are not followed and enforced in many cases.
The former state police chief says CT Ravi’s case need not be treated differently and the police should have followed due procedures.
However, in situations like mob violence, it may be difficult to follow those instructions, and immediate arrest could help defuse the situation. The SC guidelines have to be followed and human rights must be protected, but at the same time, the guidelines should be made practical.
Former Chairman of the State Legislative Council VR Sudharshan is of the view that the whole development is not in good taste or convention and the elected representatives must conduct themselves more responsibly. According to him, the council chairman should have immediately called an all-party leaders meeting and summoned the Business Advisory Committee (BAC) to resolve the issue. The CM, DyCM, Opposition leaders and floor leaders are among the members of the BAC.
At the time, when Ravi and Hebbalkar were engaged in heated exchanges and the obscene remarks were allegedly made, the Council proceedings had been adjourned due to chaos over Congress members’ demand for a discussion over Amit Shah’s remarks on BR Ambedkar.
On the whole, the developments within and outside the legislature reflect poorly on the state of affairs in Karnataka. While the investigation will throw more light on the elected representatives’ behaviour in the Council, the police should not become an instrument for political fights. That could set a dangerous trend, especially given the growing animosity between the parties and their leaders.