'Misuse of power': Sharad Pawar criticises prosecution sanction of Arundhati Roy under UAPA

NEW DELHI: Calling the Delhi Lieutenant Governor's decision to prosecute author Arundhati Roy under the stringent UAPA for a speech she delivered in 2010 a "misuse of power," Nationalist Congress Party-SP (NCP-SP) leader Sharad Pawar criticised his decision.
Pawar made these remarks during a joint press conference with his Maha Vikas Aghadi allies, Uddhav Thackeray of the Shiv Sena (UBT) and Prithviraj Chavan, a senior Congress leader.
Along with Roy, the Delhi L-G, VK Saxena, also approved action under UAPA against Sheikh Showkat Hussain, a former professor at the Central University of Kashmir. Both Roy and Hussain were named in an FIR filed on October 28, 2010, for allegedly making provocative speeches at a conference titled "Azadi - The Only Way" held on October 21, 2010, in New Delhi.
An official stated that the conference discussions and speeches advocated for the separation of Kashmir from India.
In October of the previous year, the L-G had granted sanction to prosecute Roy and Hussain under section 196 of CrPC for offenses punishable under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, including 153A (promoting enmity between different groups), 153B (imputations, assertions prejudicial to national-integration), and 505 (statements conducing to public mischief).
Other speakers at the conference included Syed Ali Shah Geelani, SAR Geelani (the conference anchor and prime accused in the Parliament attack case), and Telugu poet Varavara Rao.
Earlier, the National Conference and Peoples Democratic Party have also expressed their disapproval of the prosecution sanction against Roy and Hussain.
After Delhi's LG accorded persecution, PDP chief and former chief minister of the erstwhile state of J-K, Mehbooba Mufti, termed the sanction "shocking".
"Shocking that Arundhati Roy, world-renowned author and a brave woman who has emerged as a powerful voice against fascism, has been booked under the draconian UAPA," she said on 'X'.
The PDP chief said the Centre continues its "rampage violating fundamental rights with impunity".
"Booking a former law professor from Kashmir is also an act of frustration," Mehbooba Mufti added.
Her daughter and media adviser Iltija Mufti said Roy will be prosecuted under UAPA for being an "audacious voice who refuses to bend the knee".
"Equally worrying that it also includes Dr Sheikh Shoukat a former Professor of Law from Kashmir. What is becoming of India? Might as well turn this country into an open-air prison," she said on X.
(With inputs from agencies)