South Central 98: Key developments in protests and crackdown in Delhi

Were Saurav Das and Ashutosh detained for breaching a peace bond, or were preventive powers being used to restrict their right to protest?

In this week’s South Central, hosts Dhanya Rajendran and Pooja Prasanna examine the legal questions surrounding the detention of Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka, the use of peace bonds and the limits of the state’s power to prevent protests. They are joined by Apar Gupta, advocate and founder-director of the Internet Freedom Foundation, to discuss the role of executive magistrates, preventive detention and the implications for the right to dissent.

The discussion examines how executive magistrates can require people to sign peace bonds to maintain public order, and what happens when authorities subsequently detain them for allegedly violating those conditions. It also looks at the distinction between preventing a possible breach of peace and using preventive powers to restrict people’s freedom to protest.

Apar Gupta questions the legality of the detentions, arguing that the authorities’ actions in this case were unlawful and that the two men should have been released. The conversation also explores the powers exercised by executive magistrates, the potential for their misuse, and why legal safeguards are necessary to ensure that measures intended to maintain public order do not become a means of curbing constitutional freedoms.