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Fifty years ago Justice H.R. Khanna in his dissenting judgment in the ADM Jabalpur case held that the right to life and personal liberty is an inalienable human right, and is so sacrosanct that it cannot be taken away even when the nation is in a state of emergency except by due process of law.

The judgment was widely acclaimed both nationally and internationally, not only for the reason that it declared the right to life and liberty as a basic human right, but also because it was delivered at a time when citizens were gripped by fear of the state, which was virtually breathing down their neck. The dissent cost Justice Khanna the exalted position of Chief Justice of India, but it earned him a place of reverence in the annals of judicial history.

Fifty years later we see in Justice Atul Sreedharan of the Allahabad high court a reflection of Justice Khanna.

Once again, the citizen’s right to life and personal liberty, right to free speech and expression, and right to peaceful protest against the tyranny of the state are under threat. Many a people found on the wrong side of the state are taken into custody on mere posting of a tweet, let alone participating in a peaceful protest, by raising the bugbear of national security and public order.

Illustration: Pariplab Chakraborty.

Ironically, those who are in power today are seen adopting those very tactics of which they or........

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