The Bombay High Court, hearing a petition filed by two persons detained recently by the police during the visit of an American dignitary, on Tuesday said the reasons furnished by the state government were not strong enough to justify their detention.

The court rubbished the contents of an affidavit submitted to the court justifying the action.

The affidavit said there was “secret” information that the two activists were planning something during the visit of US secretary of State Hillary Clinton. The information they had was that the two activists, while conversing with each other, had said it’s time to create a “dhamaal” (ruckus).

A division bench of Justice Bilal Nazki and Justice A R Joshi, however, observed, “But where is the offence?”

Additional Public Prosecutor Dinesh Adsule, who submitted the affidavit about the detentions that was filed by DCP K M M Prasanna, in his arguments, said it was a preventive action. “What if they had thrown a stone or something,” Adsule said.

The court did not buy the argument and asserted that if that was the case, then police should have pursued it instead.

Activists Feroze Mithiboriwala of Awami Bharat and Aslam Gazi of Jamat-e-Islam had filed the petition after the police detained them under Section 151 of the CrPC apprehending they would commit some offence during the American dignitary’s visit.

The state stand was that the duo was planning some demonstration against Clinton. The court had on Monday asked what was wrong if anyone wanted to demonstrate against some American dignitary. “We’ve become physically free but mentally we’re still in 1947,” Justice Nazki observed.

... contd.