JOIN USPetitioner happy with Supreme Court interim order in sedition case
The Supreme Court on Wednesday ordered to keep the colonial-era sedition law in abeyance till the Centre re-examines the provision, carrying life term as the maximum penalty, in view of the concerns expressed over its misuse to jail the critics of the ruling dispensation. One of the petitioners, octogenarian Major General (Retired) S G Vombatkere said he is happy with the interim order.
A resident of Mysuru since a few decades following his long innings in the Indian Army, Major Gen Vombatkere is not just a veteran soldier and engineer, but has been relentlessly creating awareness among the people about social, environmental, heritage, development issues and consumer rights at the age of 80. He delivers speeches, participates in discussions, writes in newspapers and magazines, and files petitions before courts of law regarding issues that interest him.
It has to be noted that a bench comprising Chief Justice N V Ramana and Justices Surya Kant and Hima Kohli passed the interim order on a batch of petitions, challenging the validity of the penal provision, for having a chilling effect on the fundamental right to freedom of speech and expression.
Major Gen Vombatkere, a recipient of Vishisht Seva Medal (VSM), retired in 1996 as Additional Director General, Discipline and Vigilance in the Army Headquarters' AG's branch. He holds a PhD degree in Structural Dynamics from IIT-Madras. He is an Adjunct Associate Professor of the University of Iowa, the USA, in International Studies. With over 450 published papers in national and international journals and seminars, his current area of interest is strategic and development-related issues.
Vombatkere was the captain of a combat unit in the mountain brigade that fought its way from Jammu into Pakistan’s Sialkot sector during the 1965 war and missed his death by a whisker. On September 22, 1965, the combat unit located along one side of a large grove of trees near Maharajke, a Pakistani village situated about 20 km from Sialkot, was the target of an air attack by Pakistan’s F-86 aircraft. His memoir ‘Fifty Years Ago…Air Attack!’ is an interesting document on the 1965 war.
He also holds a Guinness Record for designing and executing the construction of the highest bridge in the world over Khardungla Pass in 1982.
Over the past few years, he has been vocal against the present dispensation and has been advocating human rights and civil liberties. He has adopted a multi-pronged approach to create awareness against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and other laws.
Vombatkere was among a group of 40 scientists, academics and activists who penned a public letter to Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai to mark Republic Day this year against the statements of legislators and failure of the state machinery to rein in anti-social groups that led to the killings of youths and hate speeches.
He was also among the three Army veterans who moved the Supreme Court for appointment of a Special Investigating Team (SIT) to probe into the alleged hate speeches made at Haridwar and Delhi a few months ago.
As an expert in structural dynamics, Vombatkere has been opposing development of Chamundi Hill, an eco-hotspot into a tourist destination. He also opposed the commercial development of KRS Dam across River Kaveri and also gave advice for the conservation and strengthening of the dam.