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