No freedom to protest

Tools of curbing dissent

“A few weeks after the incident I couldn’t walk around in peace. I was subconsciously looking out for people in brown. It took two months for me to stop being worried about people in brown near me,” says a civic volunteer who prefers anonymity, recalling the harrowing experience of being called to the police station for trying to educate people on the much-debated Sankey road-widening and flyover project in Bengaluru’s Malleswaram, which is with the Bengaluru Metropolitan Land Transport Authority now.

Last February, he and a fellow volunteer were interacting with walkers inside the Sankey tank premises on the extent of tree loss if the flyover project materialises. That’s when the police came and asked them to get into the police van. They asked him to share various personal details. As he gave it all and started walking back, the cops detained him.

“I did not protest the detention. I got into the police van. They took me to the Sadashivanagar police station,” he recounts. He was questioned by the police about his personal details and kept in the station for an hour.

At this point, citizens of Malleswaram who had observed the detention came to the police station and questioned the cops. Finally, he was let go. “That was the first time I went to a police station,” he adds.

On February 6, Malleswaram citizens approached the local police station seeking permission for a silent march. “The next day onwards we started getting calls, asking us not to protest. We were not going to protest, it was just a walk. Despite clarifying this, the cops kept calling us,” says Preeti Sunderajan, a citizen of Malleswaram.

“They warned us of grave consequences and asked me to visit the police station but I refused,” she adds.

When people finally walked wearing black on February 19 in order to oppose the Sankey project, the police filed a first information report (FIR) against 71 people. “Is trying to save the environment wrong?” asks a civic activist.

“A nine-year-old kid who walked with us picked up garbage en route. She is asking me how I broke the rules, I don’t know what to tell her,” Preeti adds.

“Because of cops’ actions, there is an inherent fear of cops now,” she points out, adding that today parents tell kids that cops are there to help people. “In this situation, I don’t know what I should tell the kids,” she says.

After the FIR came to light last week, over 70 civic groups representing lakhs of people met Bengaluru City Police Commissioner Prathap Reddy and demanded that the FIR against citizens be scrapped. Reddy promised citizens that due process will be followed to complete the investigation. He also transferred the case to Halasuru Gate police station in order to ensure an impartial inquiry.

What’s in the FIR?

The FIR copy shows the march conducted by citizens in the Sankey case as punishable with fine or imprisonment under Indian Penal Code 143, 149 (unlawful assembly), 283 (obstruction in public way) and 341 (wrongfully restraining others), which are punishable by simple imprisonment of six months or fine extending up to Rs 500. It also mentions the disruption of public order and not having permission for the march.

A source said the FIR was slapped because there was no permission for the march. The police were just following the rules, and the sections slapped on the protesters were not very serious. Only the organiser of the march, Jhatka.org was served with a notice. “The charges can be contested as the chargesheet has not been filed yet. The police and the court are part of a democratic setup. Why are people afraid?” asked a source who did not want to be named.

DH tried to reach Bengaluru city police commissioner Pratap Reddy, who was unavailable for comments.

No right to protest

The larger question here is of the State dictating to citizens how and where to protest.

“Twelve years ago people who opposed the felling of trees on Sankey Road were detained, but there was no formal complaint back then,” says Vinay Srinivasa, a lawyer and a rights activist. A government rule that came up after farmers protested in Bengaluru enabled police to slap FIRs on protesting people. Today in Bengaluru, protesters have no other place than Freedom Park in order to protest.

“The government comes up with projects that violate the environment. It is disheartening to see the government clamping down on people who try to protect the environment by expressing dissent,” says Vinay Srinivasa, a lawyer and a rights activist.

He says farmers in the villages to be acquired for Shivarama Karanth Layout on the outskirts of Bengaluru, who were denied fair compensation and rehabilitation, were asked to sign papers saying they will not protest.

Ramesh, a farmer leader from Mavallipura, mentions multiple complaints filed against him and other farmers who will lose their lands when the project takes off when they protested against it. Among them is a notice under Section 107 in the Code Of Criminal Procedure, 1973, which asked the farmers to give an undertaking that they will not protest for a year.

“Protesting is our right. Our protests are peaceful. We have never disturbed the public order,” says Ramesh. Previously, he and others spent five days in jail for trying to save crops from the Bengaluru Development Authority’s excavators.

“Denying citizens their right to protest is against the spirit of the Constitution,” says civic activist Srinivas Alavilli. “Many years ago, we were given permission to protest in front of Vidhana Soúdha and even the Mahatma Gandhi statue on MG Road. Then we were told to go to Mysore Bank or Maurya Circle. Now it’s only Freedom Park,” he explains the changes over years.

‘Local protests for local problems’

“In the Sankey issue, the government’s response has been arbitrary and harsh. Who files an FIR for protesting?” asks Alavilli. Generally, the police file an FIR if people protest in places other than Freedom Park, but even inside Freedom Park, there are examples of people getting detained.

“For civic groups that come together to raise issues related to local infrastructure and public services, gathering in Freedom Park is not practical at all. It doesn’t highlight the issues in a growing city like ours. Local issues need to be highlighted locally,” Alavilli opines.

Bengaluru is known for its active citizenry that participates in governance matters. “Thousands of citizens engage with civic agencies on a daily basis and work together at the ward and city levels to make their voices heard. Protests are rare, peaceful events. To my knowledge, they never disrupted public order. It is the mega political rallies that cause traffic congestion and inconvenience to people, not civil society protests,” he adds.

“If we are mobilising 1000s of people from across Karnataka, going to Freedom Park makes sense. For a protest in Whitefield to solve a local issue, why do people have to go to Freedom Park?” he asks.

Sometimes police file FIRs when the protests seem political. However, Alavilli argues that when the public raise an issue, political parties react to it, by supporting it, which is a sign of a mature democracy.

“When steel flyover protests happened, the BJP which was in opposition, supported it. When the Sankey protests happened, other parties joined the protests,” he says.

“It is the job of an opposition party to stand with citizens and hold the government accountable,” he notes.

‘Restore local protests’

“Garment workers were slapped with FIRs for taking May-day rallies, which are not protests. Pourakarmikas were slapped with FIRs for protesting inside BBMP premises. Street vendors cannot protest for the things they need inside BBMP premises. Now the situation is such that we can’t speak up even when our rights are trampled,” says Vinay.

He says an ex-corporator and his followers held protests against an MLA in Jayanagar multiple times without permission, but there was no FIR.

“My question to all the political parties is, what will you do to uphold the democratic right of the people to protest peacefully? The right to protest is integral to the right to freedom of speech and expression and the right to dissent. I demand that an ordinance be issued to reinstate local protests,” he says.

What does the govt's rule say?

“...it has been considered necessary and essential to control and regulate the protests, demonstrations and processions in Bengaluru city by devising a proper mechanism while balancing and respecting the Constitutional rights of all the concerned,” says the Licensing and Regulation of Protests, Demonstrations and Protest Marches (Bengaluru City) Order, 2021 issued in January 2022.

This was in response to a public interest litigation the high court was hearing in relation to farmers’ protests in Bengaluru. After upholding the government's rule and seeking compliance, the PIL was disposed of on August 1, 2022.

The Order of 2021 bans even peaceful protests with the intention to express dissent. It rests the right to cancel the permission given to protests with the concerned police Inspector “in case of any eventuality, exigency or based on inputs received by him or if there is any reasonable apprehension of disruption of public and order”.

MLA speaks

“The BBMP proposed the flyover project. When people asked us to refer the project to BMLTA, we responded without a second thought by doing it. I do not have anything against anybody. I have been working with commitment and dedication. The issue need not be dragged on so much. The FIR was filed in February. Citizens have met the commissioner and shared their concerns, and he is looking into it. I will not interfere in law and order issues."

- C N Ashwath Narayan, Malleswaram MLA