Photo Courtesy: nenow
Guwahati: The Gauhati High Court quashed the detention of indigenous activist Pranab Doley on Friday. He will walk free after 117 days behind bars. A division bench delivered the ruling after Doley challenged his imprisonment under the National Security Act.
Doley serves as the convenor for the Greater Kaziranga Land and Human Rights Protection Committee. Police arrested him on July 12 following a protest against a luxury Hyatt hotel project near Kaziranga National Park in Ingle Pathar village. Authorities claimed Doley trespassed at the Tea Tribes Museum and the Assam Tourism Development Corporation site while carrying deadly weapons.
A Golaghat sessions court granted Doley bail on July 29. The judge noted that the investigating officer finished questioning key witnesses, meaning Doley could not hide or change evidence. The Assam government ignored this order. Officials invoked the National Security Act on July 30 to keep him in jail.
The state government accused Doley of suspicious foreign financial transactions that allegedly violated the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act. The National Security Act permits preventive detention for a full year without a trial. Lawyer Dipesh Agarwala confirmed the court decision, though the written order remains pending.
Indigenous groups have fought the hotel project for four years. They worry the luxury development threatens their land rights and daily livelihoods at the UNESCO World Heritage site. Regarding the legal battle, advocate Dipesh Agarwala stated, "A division bench passed the order on Doley's challenge to his detention."
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