Bombay High Court today said the “arbitrary” arrest of cartoonist Aseem Trivedi had breached his freedom of speech and expression.
The court also said it intended to lay down guidelines for application of the pre-Independence sedition law to ensure that liberties guaranteed to citizens in a civil society are not encroached upon.
“How can you (police) arrest people on frivolous grounds?” it said.
The court had on Tuesday granted bail to Trivedi, arrested on Saturday on charges of sedition for drawing cartoons insulting national symbols.
“Today you attacked a cartoonist, tomorrow it will be someone else. We live in a free society and everyone has freedom of speech and expression,” it said. It also asked the police to file an affidavit on October 12 justifying the application of the sedition law in Trivedi’s case.