A bench headed by theChief Justice of Punjab and Haryana High Court today dismissed the petitionchallenging the registration of treason case against the alleged farmers in thecase of stone pelting on the vehicle of the Haryana Assembly Deputy Speaker.
The petition wasfiled by the Haryana Progressive Farmers Union in an attempt to intimidate thefarmers. The petition described the laws as oppressive and questioned itsconstitutional validity.
The petitionquestioned the constitutional validity of the sedition law. The petitioner saidthat the law is completely unconstitutional as it violates the right to freedomof speech which is a fundamental right.
The petitioner saidthat the farmers were protesting against the agricultural laws and meanwhiletheir vehicles were reportedly damaged when Ranbir Gangwa, Deputy Speaker ofHaryana Assembly was attacked on July 11.
The treason clausewas added after an FIR was registered against more than 100 protesters afterthe incident. Accepting the bail pleas of five farmers, the Sessions judge hadsaid that the charge of treason in the case appeared suspicious.
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The petitioner saidthat the law was a coercive law enacted during British rule to oppress thepeople of the country, which has no place in independent India.
The petitioner saidthat at present the law was being used against the farmers to suppress theirright to protests. The petitioner said that in the past, the Supreme Court hadalso expressed its concern over the misuse of the law.
(By Dinesh Sharma)