Jaipur: Rajasthan high court has suspended a condition requiring deposit of a Rs 1 lakh fine and ordered the immediate release of an NDPS Act convict, holding that an impossible-to-comply condition due to poverty cannot be allowed to defeat personal liberty.Justice Anoop Kumar Dhand passed the order Friday while hearing the case of Rajesh Kushwah, convicted for drug peddling and sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment. Kushwah has already served nearly eight years. His sentence was suspended on Oct 7, 2025, subject to deposit of the fine and compliance with bail conditions, but he remained in jail as he could not arrange the amount.The court held that keeping the accused incarcerated solely because he could not deposit the fine undermined the purpose of suspending the sentence and violated the right to life and personal liberty under Article 21. The court stated that poverty cannot defeat liberty.The judge also criticised lawyers’ abstention from court work to oppose Saturday sittings, saying boycotts gravely affect cases involving personal liberty and infringe litigants’ right to speedy justice. Citing Ex-Capt Harish Uppal vs Union of India, the court reiterated that advocates have no right to strike, particularly when the liberty of jail inmates is involved.“When lawyers boycott the courts, it directly violates the rights of the litigants to speedy justice, as guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution of India,” the court observed, adding that while dissent and protest are protected in a democracy, such rights are not absolute.Calling such boycotts a situation where litigants are “held to ransom,” the court directed the trial court to release the applicant forthwith on the remaining conditions. It clarified that the order would not be treated as a precedent and directed a copy to be sent to Bar Council of India and Bar Council of Rajasthan.
