KOCHI: The Kerala High Court has quashed the case registered against Zara Michele Shilansky, an Australian tourist, for allegedly tearing down pro-Palestine banners and boards at Fort Kochi in April.
The court noted since the posters did not carry the name of any organisation and no organisation had obtained permission to put them up, tearing them down could not be termed illegal.
“Since the posters were concededly put up without any legal authority and also since they did not contain the name of any organisation that had put it up, the act of removing the posters or tearing them down cannot be termed an illegal act or as one capable of provoking the commission of riot. Hence, the prosecution of the petitioner for an offence under IPC Section 153 is an abuse of the process of law and the proceedings are liable to be quashed,” Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas said.
The court issued the order while allowing the petition filed by Shilansky seeking to quash the case. Advocate Blaze K Jose, her counsel, argued the proceedings of the case were nothing but an abuse of the process of the court.
The allegation was that the posters and boards installed by the Students Islamic Organisation of India (SIO), the student wing of Jamaat-e-Islami Hind, at Jankar Jetty, Kamalakkadavu, were torn down by two foreign female tourists. Residents questioned their act and an argument ensued. The petitioner submitted that as a tourist, she had to undergo tremendous anguish following the registration of the crime.
The court said the final report does not even allege the posters were torn to provoke or with the knowledge that it would provoke a person to commit rioting. The final report is silent as to whether the petitioner was aware that tearing of the poster would cause the offence of rioting or provoke people to indulge in rioting, the court said.