Kerala High Court clears three individuals accused of waving black flags at Chief Minister’s convoy.

The Kerala High Court recently quashed the criminal case filed against three individuals who waved black flags at Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s convoy in 2017 in protest against his policies. The case had charged the protestors with several offenses, including defamation, obstruction, and assaulting police officers.
Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas, in his ruling, emphasized the importance of peaceful protests in a democratic society, stating that such protests are crucial for maintaining democratic sentiment and should not be suppressed by unnecessary legal action. He noted that waving black flags as a form of protest did not amount to defamation, highlighting that signs and symbols, depending on the context, can express either support or protest but should not automatically be interpreted as defamatory unless explicitly prohibited by law.
The three accused—Simil, Phijo, and Sumesh—had been booked for obstructing the Chief Minister’s convoy and allegedly pushing police officers who attempted to intervene. They challenged the charges, arguing that they were baseless. The Court agreed, pointing out that the charge under Section 188 (disobedience to a public servant) was invalid as an authorized person had not filed it. Similarly, the defamation charge was dismissed, with the Court noting that waving a black flag could be a sign of protest, and there was no law prohibiting such acts.
Furthermore, the Court found the claims of assaulting police officers to be insignificant, applying the legal principle of ‘de minimis non-curat lex’—meaning that the law does not concern itself with trivial matters. The charges of obstruction of way and preventing a public servant from performing their duty were also found to be unsubstantiated.
In light of this, the Court concluded that the criminal prosecution against the three individuals lacked merit and quashed the entire case.
Advocates M Vivek and Reneeta Vinu represented the petitioners, while Public Prosecutor CN Prabhkaran represented the State.