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Charged with sedition, cartoonist Aseem Trivedi was on Monday sent to jail for two weeks by a Mumbai court after police said it did not require his custody anymore two days after his arrest that has sparked an outrage.
The 25-year-old himself did not apply for bail in the case until the sedition charge, for which maximum punishment is life imprisonment, was dropped, even as the Maharashtra Government sought to distance itself from the case.
He was arrested in Mumbai on Saturday under IPC Section 124 (sedition), Section 66 A of Information Technology Act and section 2 of Prevention of Insults to Nation Honour Act. He was yesterday remanded in police custody till September 16.
The Kanpur-based artist has been accused of putting up banners mocking the Constitution during a rally of anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare in Mumbai late last year and posting the same on his Web site.
Trivedi was arrested on the basis of a complaint filed by a member of Republican Party of India, Amit Katarnayea.
“I am not seeking bail because I am proud of whatever I did, and this I will do it repeatedly. I am not a criminal that I should deposit money and seek bail, but till the time the charges of sedition are not dropped against me, I will continue to be in jail”, said a statement in Hindi purported to be written by Trivedi in jail.
The statement was circulated outside the Court by volunteers of India Against Corruption (IAC), which organised Hazare’s rally last year. Scores of Trivedi’s supporters had gathered at the court premises.
As the arrest sparked condemnation by some political parties and activists, the Congress disapproved of the arrest, saying the action was a bit “over-stretched” and “not called for”.
At the same time, the AICC advocated for “reasonable restrictions” on freedom of speech and called for respecting the national emblems.
The remarks by the AICC spokesperson, Manish Tewari, came as the party-led Government in Maharashtra said it was trying to seek the release of the artist who has been charged with sedition.
“I have no hesitation in saying that the arrest is a bit too far over-stretched...over reaction is certainly not called for...we are not in favour of arrest,” Tewari told reporters at the AICC briefing.
CPI(M) said it was “outrageous” that a sedition charge had been slapped with for drawing cartoons against corruption.
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