Refrain from arresting tenant farmer protesting peacefully: Madras high court

Chennai: The Madras high court has directed the police to refrain from taking the extreme step of arresting and detaining farmers indulging in peaceful protest against the acquisition of their lands for the multi-crore Chennai-Salem Green corridor project.

A division bench comprising justices T.S. Sivagnanam and V. Bhavani Subbaroyan gave the directive while passing further interim orders on a batch of petitions from farmers, challenging the land acquisition proceedings for the project.

“In our considered view if there is a peaceful protest, the state police should refrain from taking extreme step of arrest and detention of the persons, some of whom would be the land looser, if the project is implemented. There may be cases where under the guise of protest, a busybody, may intervene to cause certain other disturbances. The police are expected to know the difference between a genuine protestor and a busybody and indiscriminate arrest and detention for expressing democratic views should be avoided,” the bench added.

Recalling its earlier orders, the bench said this court in the earlier orders has observed that the state government or its machinery should not precipitate any problem more so in the light of the time lines mentioned in terms of reference. Let the authorities be reminded of the interim order passed by the court and necessary instructions may be given by the government pleader to all the authorities concerned that no form of precipitative action should be initiated against persons who want to express their views in a peaceful and democratic manner, more particularly, the land owners, who were entitled to express their views against the acquisition proceedings, the bench added and posted to October 8, further hearing of the case