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Ex-Judge Muralidhar Praises Gen Z Protests, Questions UAPA
LiveLaw··25 Aug
Former Chief Justice S Muralidhar praised the July Gen Z protests at Jantar Mantar as reassuring for Indian democracy, criticising the government for labelling peaceful protestors as destabilising forces. Speaking at the D S Borker Memorial Lecture, he called for repealing preventive detention laws such as UAPA and PMLA, and questioned new fast-track courts for paper leak cases.
Prism
What It Means For You
- If you are a young protestor or social media commentator, this speech reflects a live legal debate over how criticism of government can be labelled and treated.
- Muralidhar's call to decriminalise cheque bouncing could ease court backlogs that currently delay cases for ordinary citizens and small businesses.
- His remarks on judicial delays, from demonetisation to J&K statehood cases, highlight how long constitutional questions can take to resolve in India.
What's Happening
- Muralidhar praised the July Gen Z protests at Jantar Mantar and criticised the use of the criminal justice system against peaceful protestors.
- He called for repealing preventive detention laws and laws such as UAPA and PMLA, and questioned newly announced fast-track courts for paper leak cases.
- He also criticised court formality, digitisation gaps, and archaic terms like 'your lordship' as vestiges of patriarchy and feudalism in the judiciary.
The Debate Over Protest Laws
- The 1988 amendment criminalising cheque bouncing has left magistrate courts with about 40 lakh pending cases, roughly 40 percent of their total caseload.
- Courts took four years to decide on Jammu and Kashmir's reorganisation and are yet to resolve the 2016 demonetisation and electoral bonds challenges quickly.
- The 2026 Public Examinations Amendment Act followed a wave of paper leak controversies that triggered exam cancellations in preceding years.
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