Rajdeep Sardesai slams criminalization of peaceful IYC protest at AI Summit
“You can’t criminalize protest because it makes you uncomfortable”
New Delhi: Senior journalist Rajdeep Sardesai has said that while the brief protest staged by Youth Congress workers at Bharat Mandapam during the AI Summit may have been inappropriate, it does not amount to a criminal act.
Expressing his view, Sardesai described the protest as “poor form” and “wholly unnecessary,” stating that a healthy democracy often requires restraint rather than theatrics to draw attention. However, he emphasized that the nature of a protest and its legality must be viewed separately.
According to him, even if the method of protest was questionable, it remained a peaceful act and therefore fell within the constitutional right to dissent. “The right to protest is an inviolable right in a democracy,” he said, adding that personal discomfort with a protest cannot justify criminalizing it.
Sardesai strongly criticized the decision to invoke non-bailable provisions in the case, calling it a disproportionate response. He warned that treating peaceful dissent as a criminal offence risks pushing the country towards a “police state.”
He argued that the nation must be governed by the rule of law, not by arbitrary power or hyper-partisan public outrage. “If you criminalize protest simply because it makes you uncomfortable, you are heading towards a police state, and that is not what the idea of India was meant to be,” he said.
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Delhi: Father, son held for killing 19-year-old woman in suspected honour killing
New Delhi (PTI): The Delhi Police has arrested a man and his son for allegedly murdering his 19-year-old daughter in west Delhi's Hari Nagar area, an official said on Friday.
The case first came to light on April 1 after a PCR call was received around 2 pm, alleging that a woman had been killed by her family members and her body was being taken for last rites, he said.
The accused, identified as Mohammad Maneer (55), a vegetable vendor, and his son Meraj Ali (19), were arrested in connection with the case, the officer said.
The victim had been in a relationship with a man from her native place for the past two years, which was opposed by her father, Maneer and brother Meraj, he said.
"When the girl did not end the relationship despite objections, the family killed her," the officer said.
On April 1, the police said that when their team reached the spot, they found that the woman's body was being taken for burial.
Acting on the input, the burial process was stopped over suspicion of honour killing.
"Police intercepted the family members and took possession of the body," he said.
Police said that the man who had made the PCR told them that the woman was in love with his cousin.
During the inquiry, police also interacted with the PCR caller, who said his cousin, a friend of the deceased, had informed him about the situation and suspected foul play, prompting him to alert the police control room.
The body of the woman was subsequently shifted to the mortuary of Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital for preservation and postmortem.
Police said that both the crime team and the forensic science laboratory (FSL) team were called to inspect the scene and collect evidence.
Police said that, as per the postmortem report, the cause of death was identified as smothering, indicating that the woman was suffocated.
A preliminary inquiry also revealed that the family had initiated preparations for the last rites soon after the woman's death, raising suspicion about the circumstances.
Initial investigation pointed to the family's opposition to the woman's relationship.
"The family members of the woman saw her with the man, and she was taken back home. We got to know that she was beaten up and even locked inside the house for some days," a source said.
Further investigation into the matter is underway, police added.
