The court, which made the remarks while awarding a compensation ranging from Rs one lakh to two lakh to three Kashmiri migrants who were assaulted by the police in Jammu and Kashmir during a protest in 2007, also noted that there were numerous instances where separatist groups have "provoked violence" making the task difficult and delicate for the cops.
It said in curbing such violence or dispersing unlawful assemblies, police have to accomplish their task with utmost care as law and order needs to be restored but it should also be ensured that "unnecessary force" is not used.
"In curbing such violence or dispersing unlawful assemblies, police has to accomplish its task with utmost care, deftness and precision. Thus, on the one hand, law and order needs to be restored and at the same time, it is also to be ensured that unnecessary force or the force beyond what is absolutely essential is not used," it said.
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The bench said, "It is also becoming a common ground that
religious, ethnic, regional language, caste and class divisions are frequently exploited to foment violence whenever mass demonstrations or dharnas etc take place. It is unfortunate that more often than not, such protestors take to hooliganism, vandalism and even destroy public/private property."
The court's observation came while awarding compensation of Rs 2 lakh to Anita Thakur, who is a general secretary of the Jammu and Kashmir Panthers Party, and Rs 1 lakh each to the party's secretary and a senior journalist who were beaten up by the police on August 7, 2007 during the protest.
The apex court said that after going through the materials placed before it, they have found that initially it was the protestors who had taken the law into their hands by turning their peaceful agitation into a violent one but the police continued use of force beyond limits after they had controlled the mob.
(Reopens LGD 45)
The bench said, "It is apparent that to that extent, respondents misused their power. To that extent, fundamental right of the petitioners, due to police excess, has been violated. In such circumstances, in exercise of its power under Article 32 of the Constitution, this court can award compensation to the petitioners."
It said that it becomes a "more serious problem" when the police "indulges in excesses and crosses the limit by using excessive force thereby becoming barbaric or by not halting even after controlling the situation and continuing its tirade".
"This results in violation of human rights and human dignity. That is the reason that human rights activists feel that police frequently abuses its power to use force and that becomes a serious threat to the rule of law," it said.
"It hardly needs elaboration that a distinguishing feature of any democracy is the space offered for legitimate dissent. One cherished and valuable aspect of political life in India is a tradition to express grievances through direct action or peaceful protest. Organised, non-violent protest marches were a key weapon in the struggle for independence, and the right to peaceful protest is now recognised as a fundamental right in the Constitution," it said.