Student held for posts on NCP chief: HC seeks police reply to plea against FIR

A division bench of Justice S S Shinde and Justice Milind N Jadhav orally observed, “Twenty-two years of age acts both ways sometimes. There is a responsibility (on the person) as well. One should learn what responsibility is. Whatever rights we assert, they are subject to restrictions and citizens have to adhere to fundamental duties provided in the constitution.”

“It is not an absolute right. We do not have the right of encroaching on someone else’s fundamental right to live a peaceful life. Fundamental rights always come with reasonable restrictions,” Justice Shinde added.

Bhamre, in his plea filed through advocates Anirudh Ganu and Hare Krishna Mishra, had claimed that “police officers are hand-in-glove with the persons in power and facilitating their purpose of vindictively harassing petitioner by filing multiple complaints in an organised and synchronised manner and moving him from one jurisdiction to another endlessly.” He added that Section 153A of IPC could not be levelled against him since there was no enmity being promoted between classes.

Advocate Subhash Jha representing Bhamre sought his client to be released on bail and said that FIRs violate his fundamental right to freedom of speech and expression. Jha said that there are four-five FIRs against a 22-year-old student and the same should not have happened in a state like Maharashtra.

Justice Shinde responded, “You have a fundamental right within reasonable restrictions. We (in Maharashtra) have a certain culture and tradition. It should be followed…” The bench asked additional public prosecutor K V Saste to give a reply to the plea.

A few FIRs were registered against Bhamre under IPC Sections 153A, 500, 501, 504 (intentional insult to provoke breach of peace) and 506 (criminal intimidation). A magistrate court in Thane had rejected Bhamre’s bail plea.

The 22-year-old did not directly name Pawar while tweeting in Marathi: “Time has come for Baramati’s Gandhi… to create Nathuram Godse of Baramati.” Baramati town, in the Pune district, is Pawar’s home turf.

Marathi actor Ketaki Chitale was also arrested on the same day as Bhamre for a social media post referring to physical ailments the 81-year-old NCP leader suffers from.

Meanwhile, Chitale has also filed a plea in High Court seeking the quashing of an FIR registered against her at Kalwa Police station. She claimed that the enthusiasm shown by the police in registering FIRs proved that she was being targeted with an object of striking fear in minds of people and an “invisible hand” is targeting her.

Chitale’s plea claimed that FIR was an ‘abuse of process of law’ and sought it to be quashed and set aside. The pleas sought from the court to direct her arrest as “illegal and violative of her fundamental rights.” Chitale has also sought that she be compensated for “unlawful” arrest. Her lawyers are likely to seek approval from the court that pleas by Bhamre and Chitale be heard together.