Hyderabad: Detention of ‘Spirit of Telangana’ Facebook page admin Prashanth by Hyderabad Police on Monday had sparked a debate across various circles claiming that the incident is a clear violation of freedom of speech and opinion. Prashanth was detained by the Task Force wing for Facebook posts about an alleged land scam unearthed by his team at Suryapet district. Prashanth’s arrest drew flak on social media, forcing the police to withdraw their decision to question him on Tuesday.
Experts said that even the Supreme Court had made it clear that the criticism on social media cannot be treated as a crime unless it is provocative. Earlier, Andhra Pradesh Police had kicked up a controversy by arresting Inturi Kiran the admin of a Facebook page Political Punches from Hyderabad at a midnight in 2017.
M. Padmanabha Reddy from Forum for Good Governance said that this is clear intolerance and curtailing the freedom of speech and opinion. High Court Senior Advocate Chandrasen Reddy said that the police cannot pick up or detain any person without any proof or charges but it has become a routine practice for them.
“After the Supreme Court struck down Section 66-A of the IT Act terming it as draconian law, police have no other option. However, there are other sections to book people under the IT Act, but they need strong evidence and charges to be made against them,” he said. “No one can be summoned for questioning or to record his statement as a witness, without a notice. Even in the pre-investigation stage also, a notice is mandatory as per law, but it is rarely followed and the public are put to trouble,” Chandrasen Reddy said.
Cops drop plan to quiz Prashanth
Prashanth Jayala who was questioned for more than seven hours on Monday was called for inquiry on Tuesday also. But on Tuesday he received a communication from Task Force officials that he need not come for any questioning and the matter is closed. When asked officials from Task force said that they have actually picked him up for questioning based on the facebook posts, but no violations were found on his part.
Speaking to DC Prashanth said that he was on Tuesday that the issue was closed. Prashanth said that the CM Chandrashekar Rao had become an inspiration for various changes in governance, but that was not seen in respect of freedom of speech and opinion on social media.
Questions raised on political meddling
The incident had also put cops in question. Cops opined that such incidents damage the image of the police department and had once again exposed how ruling parties can influence police department and exploit the power of Police. Senior cops say that such incidents may likely attract judicial action as well. According to sources, the City Police had instructions from a top official in the Government, who told them to act on the admins of three facebook pages, which are critical on government’s irregularities.
According to Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution, the freedom is speech is guaranteed to speeches at public meetings, media and is even extended to social media as well. “Criticising the government is not at all an offence. It is just an expression of their anguish on some incidents. If that is not allowed, the basic human rights of a citizen are at stake,” a senior cop said. On one side, the department is publicising its friendly attitude towards the public and on the other hand, such incidents dampen that spirit and create a distance between police and public.
