PRAKASH KARAT Vs. STATE OF KERALA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) was formed between ten nations of South East Asia. On 13/8/2009, India entered into a trade agreement with the ASEAN countries. The signing of the agreement was not well received by a few of the political parties. In a bid to compel the Union Government to withdraw from the ASEAN free trade agreement, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) decided to form a Statewide human chain in Kerala to be lined up on the sides of the National Highway. The human chain is alleged to have been created over a distance of 500 kilometres, from Kasaragode in the north to Thiruvananthapuram in the south.

(2.) An Advocate practising in the courts at Thiruvananthapuram preferred a private complaint before the Judicial First Class Magistrate Court, Thiruvananthapuram alleging that the human chain formed on 2/10/2009 between 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the behest of accused 1 to 12 and 10,000 other identifiable persons resulted in the commission of offences under Sec. 143, 147, 149 and 283 of the Indian Penal Code,1860 apart from sec. 38 r/w sec. 52 of the Kerala Police Act, 1960.

(3.) The complaint also refers to another incident on the same day at 3 p.m., when the Sub Inspector of Police attached to the Museum Police Station, Thiruvananthapuram, noticed ten young men constructing an open stage on the road and footpath in a manner causing obstruction to the right of way of the public. According to the complainant, despite the police commanding them to desist from the construction, the young men proceeded to set up an open platform and enabled accused 1 to 12 to address the party workers as part of the human chain. The complaint further alleged that though Crime No.626 of 2009 was registered against ten identifiable persons, no steps were initiated to arrest the accused or to remove the stage constructed and that the acts of those accused constituted a violation of the decisions of this Court in Peoples Council for Social Justice v. State of Kerala (1997 (2) KLT 301) as well as Kerala Vyapari Vyavasayi Ekopana Samithi v. State of Kerala (2004 (2) KLT 857). On the above allegations, the complainant sought to prosecute the accused.