Indore, Oct 15 Lawyer and Rajya Sabha member Ujjwal Nikam on Thursday said that the youth should raise their demands within the ambit of the law, and warned them about agitations descending into anarchy or being misused by political parties.
Asked about the ongoing Gen Z protests in the country, Nikam, who has appeared as a special prosecutor in high-profile cases, told reporters here that he would like to appeal to the youth to keep all their demands within the ambit of the law.
He warned young protesters about the danger of veering towards “anarchy,” saying, “Some goons may take advantage of your movement, and some political party may misuse it. You should avoid this situation.”
Nikam also advised young protesters not to defy the rules and regulations and demand the immediate removal of any person from their post.
“If you want a particular person removed from office immediately through your movement, then tomorrow anyone can make such a demand, and that will destroy the law and order and the Constitution of the country,” the lawyer-turned-MP said.
Regarding the opposition’s continued questioning of the country’s constitutional institutions, the Rajya Sabha member said that if anyone has any doubts about them, the judicial system exists to resolve such issues.
Nikam said that judges should also avoid making extraneous oral comments during the hearing of cases that are not included in judgments, as such comments are often interpreted differently.
He said that the general public has full faith in the country’s judicial system, and the judicial system itself is responsible for maintaining this trust.
To a question, he said that the country already has strict laws to prevent sexual crimes against women, but these should be implemented as soon as possible.
Without specifically mentioning any case, he said, “I have appeared (as prosecutor) in several cases in which the sessions court sentenced the convict to death, but it takes 10 years for the sentence to be carried out. This is a matter of great concern.
“I wouldn’t say that any death sentence awarded by the court should be carried out as quickly as possible, but a time limit should be set for the disposal of mercy petitions submitted to the President to maintain public faith in law and order,” added Nikam, who had represented the government in the trial of Pakistani terrorist Ajmal Kasab in the 2008 Mumbai terror attack case.
Earlier, Nikam and his wife Jyoti attended an event organised by the Indore-based social organisation ‘Sarthak’. At the event, he spoke about his famous cases and family life, as well as the upcoming film “Prahaar: The Untold Story of Ujjwal Nikam”.
The film revolves around the terrorism cases in which he had appeared as a special public prosecutor, he said.
(PTI News)
