Only law-abiding citizens can claim fundamental rights: SC

At a time when objectionable social media posts are circulated with impunity by sheltering behind the right to free speech, the Supreme Court has ruled that the shield of this fundamental right is available only to those who adhere to law and respect legal processes.

- Dhananjay.Mahapatra

A bench of Justices Dinesh Maheshwari and Aniruddha Bose last week ruled that "any claim towards fundamental rights cannot be justifiably made without the person concerned himself adhering to and submitting to the process of law".

Though this ruling came in a case where an accused, who had challenged the invocation of anti-gangster law MCOCA by the Maharashtra government, the general nature of the ruling by the court has far-reaching spillover implications on a whole gamut of cases.

The accused had challenged the invocation of the stringent anti-gangster law against him and had pleaded that it would have a serious impact on his fundamental rights, a whole range of which would still be available to the accused facing charges under the IPC.