Drop All Cases Against Anti-Sterlite Protesters: Madras High Court

The Madras High Court also orally observed that firing upon the innocent public during the 2018 agitation was a scar on Indian democracy.

The Madras High Court on Monday directed the authorities concerned to drop all the cases registered against the protesters involved in the anti-Sterlite agitation in 2018, in which 13 persons were killed in alleged police firing, and ensure their future prospects. The first bench of Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice T S Sivagnanam also orally observed that firing upon the innocent public was a scar on Indian democracy and it should not be forgotten. The protest might not have been legal or legitimate, but citizens could not be fired at on behalf of a corporate body. The state should ensure that this kind of an incident does not happen again, it added. The bench pointed out that the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), in its report, had made certain recommendations.