When Victims Are Convicted

On 13 June 2017, a court in Kishangarh, Ajmer district, Rajasthan, convicted five right to information (RTI) activists and sentenced them to four months of imprisonment. Despite the suspension of the jail sentence pending an appeal by activists, the sentence itself led to widespread shock and anger both because of the stature of the implicated activists and the details of the case.

The five convicted activists include Nikhil De, internationally acclaimed and known for his contribution to the RTI, Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, and the ongoing efforts for universal pensions; Naurati Bai, the famous Dalit women’s activist whose appeal for honouring minimum wage laws at drought relief worksites had a national impact as also her work as a model Dalit woman panchayat leader; activist Ramkaran, who is widely recognised in Rajasthan for his self-effacing, silent but important social leadership role; the other two convicted activists are also senior participants of the RTI movement.