All India Students Association (AISA) president Neha Bora on Thursday told Delhi High Court that citizens don’t need permission to hoist the national flag, while seeking the scrapping of a special executive magistrate’s notice to her to execute a “peace bond”.
Senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, appearing for Neha, made the submission before Justice Subramonium Prasad, who reserved his order on the plea till Friday.
A special executive magistrate (SEM), who is an assistant commissioner of police, had issued a notice to Neha to appear before him to execute a bond under Section 126 of the BNSS. The section empowers SEMs to ask a person to execute a bond “for keeping the peace” if there is credible information that the individual is likely to commit a breach of peace, disturb public tranquillity, or do a wrongful act that may cause a disturbance.
The show-cause notice demanded that Neha execute a personal bond of ₹10,000 with one surety “for keeping the peace for the period of inquiry”.
Neha was taken into preventive detention on October 16, the day the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) called for a “Lehra Do Tiranga” march at Connaught Place. She was released on October 17.
Sankaranarayanan argued that Neha had gone to Mandi House, not Connaught Place where prohibitory orders under BNSS Section 163 were in place. The lawyer said Neha was detained within 10-15 minutes of reaching Mandi House on the evening of October 16. He called the detention illegal as there were no prohibitory orders at Mandi House.
Appearing for the police, additional solicitor-general (ASG) Chetan Sharma called the submission false.
Sankaranarayanan said: “Question is, does this (SEM notice) have substance? We don’t need permission to hoist the national flag. They need a class on law.”
Challenging the SEM’s notice, Neha’s lawyer argued that there was no application of mind or independent opinion while issuing the notice.
Sankaranarayanan said: “According to the notice, what I (Neha) have done is shout loudly at the protest at the roundabout of Mandi House.”
“You were involved in protest-related activities in and around Jantar Mantar despite prohibitory orders. You instigated people to participate in an unauthorised demonstration at Central Park, Connaught Place... and also hoist the national flag without obtaining valid permission,” the lawyer quoted the notice.
Neha has also challenged the contention in the notice that there was apprehension of breach of public peace and tranquillity within the jurisdiction of the SEM’s court.
Even for an interim bond, an inquiry is essential and the SEM could not have directly asked for the furnishing of the bond, Neha’s counsel said.
The court asked the police whether, except for the kalandra (a report to stop a potential breach of peace or public disturbance), there was any other material or inquiry before the issuance of the notice. The court orally asked the police to hold off till the time it pronounces the order.
Sankaranarayanan said there was nothing wrong in seeking regime change in a democracy, responding to Sharma’s effort to draw the court’s attention to a joint media conference attended by Neha where such a statement was made.
Sankaranarayanan said Neha had not said that and “there is nothing wrong with regime change in a democracy”.