The Gauhati High Court on Friday quashed the detention of Assam land rights activist Pranab Doley who had been detained under provisions of National Security Act (NSA).
Details of the court order are awaited and the story will be updated once it is available. The government, in a communication to Doley said that 13 cases have been filed against him, accusing him of inciting hatred against the state, instigating violence between communities and obstructing officials from carrying out their duties, among other charges. The government said 13 police cases had been registered against him. Doley was arrested on July 12, days after he took part in protests by activists and locals on June 28 at Ingle Pathar village near the UNESCO World Heritage Site against the proposed hotel project.
In its FIR, police alleged that Doley and others “trespassed” into the site of the project “with pre-planned manner, being armed with deadly weapons like machete, sharp sticks, etc”, “attempted to set fire” to a cement mixer there, “injured 12 police personnel and outraged the modesty of women police officers on duty”, “instigated the crowd” and “threatened” further agitation, among other allegations.
True public order is achieved not by silencing the affected, but by listening to them.”
Granting bail to Doley on July 29, additional sessions judge (ASJ) Nur Muhammad Abdullah Ahmed said the dispute stemmed from “a deep-rooted anxiety regarding environmental degradation” and stated, “In matters where ecological preservation intersects with indigenous survival, the standard apparatus of criminal law cannot be used to suppress local anxieties.
The Assam government invoked the NSA against activist Pranab on July 28, a day after a sessions court granted him bail in a case linked to protests against a luxury hotel project near Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve (KNPTR), preventing his release from custody.
