The Hindu : NBA activists court arrest

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Mar 07, 2002

National

National

NBA activists court arrest
By Gaurav Vivek Bhatnagar

NEW DELHI, MARCH 6. It was for their sake that the Booker Prize winner, Arundhati Roy, criticised the Supreme Court order in a contempt case against her. And so when it came to ``Judgment Day'' today, Narmada Bachao Andolan activists returned the favour by courting arrest in protest against the sentence passed on her by the court.

In fact, it was a hectic day for the NBA activists. Along with several intellectuals and supporters they sat in protest outside the Court around 10 a.m. to express solidarity with Ms. Roy who had raised ``the issue of freedom of speech vis- a-vis accountability of the Court''.

Raising slogans, they held aloft placards reading ``Criticism is not contempt'' and ``Can truth scandalise the court?''

While most protesters stayed outside the court premises, the NBA leader, Medha Patkar, environment activist Vandana Shiva and columnist Praful Bidwai accompanied Ms. Roy inside the complex in the capacity of observers. Though no one had been allowed inside on previous two appearances, permission to attend the proceedings was granted to some this time.

As soon as news of the order filtered out, the NBA protesters turned restive and courted arrest. They were herded into waiting buses and taken to the Parliament Street police station.

Soon after, Ms. Roy's counsel, Prashant Bhushan, described the verdict as ``unfortunate''. Through the judgment, the Supreme Court advocate said, the court had ``sought to muzzle dissent'' as a means of preserving honour. Asserting that ``a vast majority'' supported Ms. Roy, he said a review petition would be filed against the order.

Ms. Patkar described the order as ``injustice''. Later, she led a protest dharna at the Tihar Jail where Ms. Roy was lodged.

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NBA activists court arrest