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2009 Supreme(SC) 749

ARIJIT PASAYAT, LOKESHWAR SINGH PANTA, P.SATHASIVAM
In Re: Destruction of Public & Private Properties – Appellant
Versus
State of A. P. – Respondent


Advocates appeared:
G.E. Vahanvati (SGI), Dr. Manish Singhvi AAG, (Rajasthan), R. Shunmuga-sundaram, Sr. Adv., Rajiv Dhawan (A.C.), Ashok K. Mahajan, Riku Sharma (for M/s. Corporate Law Group), S.R. Hedge, Rohen Singh, Nishant Mishra, Amit Kr. Chawla, Mrs. H. Wahi, Ms. Pinky Behra, Ms. K. Enatoli Sema, Ms. Somanath Padhan, Mamta Tushar, K. Nobin Singh, Krishna Kumar, Subhash Kaushik, Ms. Sadhna Sandhu, D.S. Mehra, Aruneshwar Gupta, shiv Pujan Singh, Avijit Bhattacharjee, S. Kundu, Gopal Singh, Manish Kumar, Naresh K. Sharma, Kuldip Singh, R.K. pandey, Anil Shrivastava, Ritu Raj, K.N. Madhu Soodhanan, R. Sathish, Ms. Aruna Mathur, V. Dubey (for M/s. Arputham, Aruna & Co.), Ranjan Mukherjee, V.G. Pragasam, S.J. Aristotle, Praburama Subramanian, Milind Kumar, Mrs. D. Bharathi Reddy, Khwairakpam Nobin Singh, Ms. Vibha Datta Makhija, Ravindra Keshavrao Adusre, S. Thananjayan, Ajay Pal, S.R. Hedge, G. Prakash, A. Subhashini, SWA Qadri, Mrs. Anil Katiyar, D.S. Mehra, Ms. Vanita, Shail Kr. Dwivedi, Gunnam Venkates-wara Rao, Ms. Vandana Mishra, A.K. Jha, M.K. Jha, Advocates.

Judgement Key Points

Certainly. Based on the provided legal document, here are the key points summarized:

  1. The Supreme Court has emphasized the necessity of establishing guidelines to assist law enforcement agencies in executing their statutory duties effectively and to create a specialized mechanism for addressing damages resulting from riots and civil disturbances (!) (!) .

  2. The Court has approved the recommendations from two committees, which include measures such as amending existing laws to incorporate rebuttable presumptions of guilt for offenses related to destruction of public property, and making organizational leaders liable for inciting or abetting such acts (!) (!) (!) (!) .

  3. There is a focus on utilizing technological evidence, such as videography, to document acts of violence and damage, with provisions for authenticating such evidence in court proceedings (!) (!) (!) (!) .

  4. The Court advocates for stricter bail restrictions for offenders involved in damaging public property, including the possibility of imposing fines equivalent to the market value of damaged property and enhanced penalties to deter future offenses (!) (!) .

  5. Guidelines for preventive actions include organizing demonstrations with police oversight, route revision, prohibition of weapons, videography of protests, and immediate reporting of any violence or damage to authorities and the courts (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) .

  6. The Court recognizes the importance of media self-regulation based on principles of trusteeship, impartiality, responsible reporting, and balanced presentation, with a preference for self-regulation over external control (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) .

  7. It underscores the need for effective supervision of the media, including amendments to existing laws to support responsible journalism, and the establishment of independent mechanisms within media organizations (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) .

  8. The Court highlights the importance of transparency and accountability in police actions, especially in cases of arrests and detention, advocating for proper documentation and oversight to prevent abuse of power (!) (!) (!) .

  9. The Court stresses that while the state has the authority to take preventive detention and interrogation measures for national security, such actions must be conducted within constitutional and legal bounds, avoiding torture or illegal methods (!) (!) .

  10. The Court advocates for a balanced approach to law enforcement, ensuring effective crime control while protecting individual rights, and emphasizes the need for continuous development of guidelines to address emerging challenges related to riots, protests, and public disorder (!) (!) .

  11. Overall, the Court’s directives aim to strengthen legal frameworks, improve enforcement mechanisms, promote responsible media behavior, and uphold constitutional rights, with a focus on procedural fairness, transparency, and deterrence (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) .

Please let me know if you need a more detailed analysis or specific legal advice based on these points.


JUDGMENT

Dr. Arijit Pasayat, J.—

1. Taking a serious note of various instances where there was large scale destruction of public and private properties in the name of agitations, bandhs, hartals and the like, suo motu proceedings were initiated by a Bench of this Court on 5.6.2007. Dr. Rajiv Dhawan, Senior counsel of this Court agreed to act as Amicus Curiae. After perusing various reports filed, two Committees were appointed; one headed by a retired Judge of this Court Justice K.T. Thomas. The other members of this Committee were Mr. K. Parasaran, Senior Member of the legal profession, Dr. R.K. Raghvan, Ex-Director of CBI, and Mr. G.E. Vahanavati, the Solicitor General of India and an officer not below the rank of Additional Secretary of Ministry of Home Affairs and the Secretary of Department of Law and Justice, Government of India. The Other Committee was headed by Mr. F.S. Nariman, a Senior Member of the Legal Profession. The other members of the Committee were the Editor-in-Chief of the Indian Express, the Times of India and Dainik Jagaran, Mr. Pranay Roy of NDTV and an officer not below the rank of Additional Secretary of Ministry of Home Affairs, Information and Broadcasting




































































































































































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