Violence supplants rights: A disturbing trend in India

Mob violence replaces peaceful discourse, undermining democracy and endangering judicial independence in India.

- OLAV ALBUQUERQUE

The right to use violence appears to have supplanted the right to work in peace or to practice, profess, and propagate one's religion as guaranteed by Article 25. In parts of the country, Christians were allegedly prevented from celebrating Christmas in stray incidents. However, leaving religion aside, what left litigants aghast was an incident involving the Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) of Rajatalab, Varanasi. On Tuesday, the SDM became the cynosure of all eyes on the tehsil premises when he decided to hold court proceedings from his SUV.

The SDM, accompanied by trainee IAS officer Ashrith Shakamuri, who bagged the 40th rank in the UPSC exam in 2022 and holds a B.Tech degree from BITS, Pilani, ought to have been well aware of the law. The decision to conduct proceedings from his vehicle stemmed from an altercation with a lawyer. The lawyer had submitted an application seeking an order around 11 a.m., but the attached report was several months old. The SDM decided to issue a fresh date for an updated report to be filed.

This decision roused the lawyer's ire, leading to a heated argument. The lawyer reportedly threatened the SDM, vowing to disrupt court proceedings. Other lawyers joined him in blocking the main gate of the court, thereby preventing litigants from entering or leaving the premises.

Faced with such obstruction, the SDM decided to hold court from his official SUV. "I decided to hold court proceedings from my official SUV, and announcements were made using the loudspeaker installed in the vehicle to summon litigants," he stated.