Facebook Comment Can Land You in Jail

Markandey Katju, Chairman of Press Council of India criticized the arrests in strong words and requested Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan to suspend the official who arrested the girls.

Katju wrote "I received an email stating that the woman has been arrested for protesting on Facebook against the shutdown in Mumbai on the occasion of the death of Mr. Bal Thackeray. It is alleged that she has been arrested for allegedly hurting religious sentiment.” as reported by yahoo.com.

Katju was of the opinion that it was absurd to say that protesting against a bandh hurt religious sentiments. He added that “Hence if the facts reported are correct, I request you to immediately order the suspension, arrest, chargesheeting and criminal prosecution of the police personnel (however high they may be) who ordered as well as implemented the arrest of that woman."

He pointed out "Under Article 19(1)(a) of our constitution, freedom of speech is a guaranteed fundamental right. We are living in a democracy, not a fascist dictatorship. In fact this arrest itself appears to be a criminal act since under sections 341 and 342 it is a crime to wrongfully arrest or wrongfully confine someone who has committed no crime."