Justice Bhuyan’s Lecture on Shrinking Space for Democratic Dissent

In a pointed public lecture, Supreme Court Justice Ujjal Bhuyan said the space for democratic dissent in India is shrinking, warning that peaceful protests and constitutional freedoms are progressively being treated as criminal acts. Speaking at the National Law Institute University (NLIU) in Bhopal, he highlighted a case that has become a symbol of state overreach: a group of young Muslims spent nearly three months in jail after organising an Iftar gathering on a boat on the River Ganga. “I am sure consuming chicken biryani is not an offence,” he remarked, noting that no law prohibits eating chicken on the river.

Justice Bhuyan argued that the practice of prolonged arrests and lengthy legal proceedings against peaceful protesters, environmental activists and students undermines the criminal justice system. He specifically pointed to student activists detained for 30 to 40 days for participating in campus demonstrations, a dynamic that forces them into costly legal battles endangering their education and future careers.

The judge also took aim at the courts themselves, criticising restrictive bail conditions. Directions that prevent undertrials from addressing public meetings, surrendering passports when there is no flight risk, or using social media, he said, amount to judicially enforced self‑censorship. Such conditions, in his view, create a chilling effect, signalling that engaging in public discourse invites severe personal consequences.

Beyond the criminal justice lens, Justice Bhuyan called on law universities to nurture critical thinking rather than conformity, stating that academic spaces should encourage students to question authority and examine judicial decisions without fear of disciplinary action or prosecution.

What the Remarks Reveal About India’s Criminal Justice and Academic Climate

The Iftar Case and the Criminalisation of Routine Gatherings

The example of the Iftar boat party is not just an anecdote – it underscores how everyday acts of community gathering are being reframed as potential law‑and‑order problems. Justice Bhuyan’s remark that eating chicken biryani is not a crime highlights a widening gap between legal statutes and the practical use of police powers. The absence of any specific violation did not prevent three months of incarceration, pointing to systemic issues in the application of preventive detention and the slow pace of judicial bail hearings. This case, and others like it, are now being closely watched because they test the boundary between maintaining public order and criminalising normal social behaviour.

Bail Conditions as Judicially Enforced Self‑Censorship

By targeting the restrictive conditions often attached to bail, Justice Bhuyan moved the critique from executive action to judicial practice. When courts bar undertrials from speaking publicly, using social media or travelling even without any demonstrated risk, they effectively impose a gag on dissent before trial. This practice, he argued, signals that engaging in public discourse can trigger severe personal consequences – a message that discourages not just the accused but a wider circle of activists and ordinary citizens from peaceful protest. His remarks bring into focus the need to review standard bail templates that may override constitutional guarantees of free expression without sufficient justification.

Universities and the Squeeze on Academic Freedom

Justice Bhuyan’s call for law universities to foster “critical thinking” rather than “conformity” resonates against a backdrop of disciplinary actions and criminal complaints against students who question government policy or judicial decisions. His argument that universities should remain spaces for questioning authority directly challenges a visible trend on many campuses where student activism is met with formal inquiries, rustication, or even police complaints. This part of the speech broadens the concern from the courtroom to the classroom, suggesting that the chilling effect on dissent begins early and is institutionally reinforced.