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The Observatory has been informed about the ongoing judicial harassment of Ibrahim Dafadar,
a 32-year-old human rights defender from the village of Nawdapara,
Murshidabad District, West Bengal State. Mr Dafadar is the Secretary of
the local Amra Simantabasi committee. The Amra Simantabasi are
resident-based committees representing the interests and defending the
rights of the populations living in the areas near the border with
Bangladesh. Over the past few years, Mr Dafadar has been engaged in the
promotion of social development, the documentation of violations
committed by the Border Security Force, and the exposure of local
corrupt practices. These activities have made him a target of local
politicians and their police associates.
On March 10, 2024, Mr Ibrahim
Dafadar received a summons under Section 107 of the Indian Code of
Criminal Procedure (CrPC) through the Bagdah police station, ordering
him to appear before the Executive Magistrate of Bongaon District.
Section 107 of the CrPC refers to the summoning powers of an Executive
Magistrate in cases where there is a well-founded suspicion that a
person “is likely to commit a breach of the peace or disturb the public
tranquillity or to do any wrongful act that may probably occasion a
breach of the peace or disturb the public tranquillity”. Mr Dafadar is
unaware of any act he may have committed that would constitute such an
offence. He believes that the summons constitutes a retaliation for his
human rights work, and that it is part of a plot between local
politicians and police officers to implicate him in a fabricated
criminal case.
On March 12, 2024, Mr Dafadar
appeared before the Executive Magistrate of Bongaon District and was
released after paying a bond of INR 1,000 (approx. EUR 11.10). On March
31, 2024, he submitted a complaint to the Superintendent of Police of
Bongaon District, alleging an attempt to incriminate him in a trumped-up
case. A similar complaint has been filed with the same Superintendent
of Police by the residents of Nawdapara in the form of a memorandum
signed by nearly 200 heads of family.
The use of summons under Section 107
of the CrPC is a well-known practice in West Bengal State to silence
dissent and obstruct human rights work. Ahead of events of public
interest – such as religious, social, or political events like
administrative elections – it is common for both the lower judiciary and
the police in the region to issue summons against human rights
defenders and critics of local policies with the aim to intimidate them
and force them into silence through judicial harassment. These practices
openly contravene India's international obligations regarding freedom
of expression and the protection of human rights defenders, and
constitute an unacceptable curtailment of the legitimate work in defence
of human rights.
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