Samsung employees’ protest. File
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
The Madras High Court on Wednesday (October 9, 2024) closed a habeas corpus petition (HCP) related to the arrest of eight persons involved in the ongoing protest by a section of employees of Samsung India at Sunguvarchatram in Sriperumbudur near Chennai.
Justices P.B. Balaji and G. Arul Murugan recorded the statement of Additional Public Prosecutor (APP) A. Damodaran that the eight employees, arrested on Tuesday (October 8, 2024), were released after a judicial magistrate refused to remand them to judicial custody.
The APP told the court that the police had filed a First Information Report (FIR) on Tuesday against six named individuals and 30 unnamed persons under Sections 191(2), 296(b), 115(2), 132, 121(1), 351(2) and 49 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023.
The charges against them were that they had voluntarily caused hurt to deter public servants from performing their duty, used criminal force against public servants, indulged in rioting, uttered obscene words, and intimidated the police.
Accordingly, the police arrested eight of them at 5 p.m. on Tuesday and produced them before the Sriperumbudur Judicial Magistrate, who refused to remand them to judicial custody and instead granted bail on certain conditions, the APP said.
“All the eight persons are right now furnishing sureties and I can show it to the court by making a video call to the Inspector of Police concerned,” Mr. Damodaran told the court and contended that there was no need to have filed the present HCP.
On the other hand, advocate N,G.R. Prasad, representing the habeas corpus petitioner E. Muthukumar of Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU), contended that the police had acted in a high-handed manner by arresting the workers who had been protesting for their rights.
He said the High Court had already granted permission for a peaceful protest 500 m away from the Samsung factory and that the workers’ right to protest could not be curtailed by effecting such arrests and the attempt to obtain remand orders at midnight.
Published – October 10, 2024 11:43 am IST
