Section 144 in all of Uttar Pradesh, Section 144 near Red Fort in Delhi, Section 144 in Bengaluru — the rest of India is starting to look a lot like Kashmir that has had non-stop imposition of section 144 of the IPC.

As the number of protests against the controversial Citizenship Act keeps sweeling up everyday, Section 144 (which many see as “a tactic, an abuse of law, illegal, unconstitutional” way to control the protests from taking place) was imposed in different parts of India.

Once the prohibitory orders are promulgated, a group of five persons or more cannot assemble together at one place. And no surprises that this order was imposed in areas where protests were planned against CAA and NRC which specifically target Muslim immigrants whether they belong to persecuted communities or not.

So the questions here are several: Does our Constitution not allow citizen protests? And if it does, when and under what circumstances can reasonable restrictions be imposed? When can section 144 be justifiably imposed? Is it currently being imposed legitimate or illegitimately? Has it become a way of muffling dissent? Tune in to The Big Story for more!

Host and Producer: Shorbori Purkayastha

Guest: Dr Vikram Singh, Indian educationist and Retired Indian Police Service

Editor: Shelly Walia

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