Misuse of power and process of law for suppressing people’s voice is not unknown even in democratic setups and it is the duty of rulers of every democratic nation to protect freedoms without any fear of criticism, a court in Gujarat’s Mehsana said while acquitting Congress lawmaker Jignesh Mevani in an unlawful assembly case

“Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves, and under a just God, cannot long retain it,” additional sessions judge CM Pawar said in his judgment on Wednesday, quoting 16th American President Abraham Lincoln.

Pawar said if in a democratic setup, every dissent and peaceful protest is branded as an offence, then the right of freedom has no place there. He called deliberations, discussions, debates, and bona fide dissent against the government’s policies and criticism of its inaction essential for democracy while describing the 2017 case as baseless.

A magistrate’s court last year sentenced Mevani and nine others to three-month imprisonment and fined them ₹1,000 fine each under Indian Penal Code’s Section 141 (unlawful assembly) for organising a rally without police permission.