One often hears about people being thrown into jail, but here’s a rare instance of someone being virtually thrown out of jail. Anna Hazare had once demanded a probe into a minister’s wealth. “Before he joined politics, he used to indulge in black marketing of movie tickets. After he became a minister, he suddenly accumulated crores. So, I sought an inquiry. He filed a defamation case against me. The judge sentenced me to three months in jail, but said he would waive the sentence if I agreed to sign a bond that I would not attack any minister for three years. I said this would violate my freedom of expression and preferred to go to jail,” said Anna .
So Anna was duly sent to jail. But this led to a wave of protests. Within eight days, the jailer told him that the government had pardoned him and he was free to go. “I told him, I don’t recognize this government. Get me a signed order from the judge who sentenced me’,” said Anna, his eyes twinkling mischieveously as he recalled the warden’s plight.
A few hours later, the desperate warden came back and told Anna he had instructions from the government to gather his belongings and evict him from the jail premises by 10.30pm. Anna then asked the warden to at least let him spend the night in jail. To which he was told that the government had instructed that he should be put up in the VIP quarters of the state guest house!
Interestingly, this isn’t Anna’s only brush with defamation proceedings. There are 12 more cases going on in various parts of the country. “I keep travelling to attend court hearings,” he says nonchalantly. But surely fighting so many cases must be an expensive business. How does a ‘fakir’, as he calls himself, afford the lawyer’s fees? “I have 11 lawyers fighting the 12 cases. They compete to defend me. And you know the most remarkable thing? They don’t charge me a penny,” laughed Anna.
So Anna was duly sent to jail. But this led to a wave of protests. Within eight days, the jailer told him that the government had pardoned him and he was free to go. “I told him, I don’t recognize this government. Get me a signed order from the judge who sentenced me’,” said Anna, his eyes twinkling mischieveously as he recalled the warden’s plight.
A few hours later, the desperate warden came back and told Anna he had instructions from the government to gather his belongings and evict him from the jail premises by 10.30pm. Anna then asked the warden to at least let him spend the night in jail. To which he was told that the government had instructed that he should be put up in the VIP quarters of the state guest house!
Interestingly, this isn’t Anna’s only brush with defamation proceedings. There are 12 more cases going on in various parts of the country. “I keep travelling to attend court hearings,” he says nonchalantly. But surely fighting so many cases must be an expensive business. How does a ‘fakir’, as he calls himself, afford the lawyer’s fees? “I have 11 lawyers fighting the 12 cases. They compete to defend me. And you know the most remarkable thing? They don’t charge me a penny,” laughed Anna.
- Adapted from TOI, April 17, 2011
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