Tribal activist Pranab Doley is set to walk free after 118 days in custody. On Friday, the Gauhati High Court quashed the National Security Act (NSA) charges imposed by the government and declared his detention order unconstitutional.
A joint bench of Justice Kalyan Rai Surana and Justice Susmita Phukan Khaund delivered this historic verdict. The 40-year-old activist was arrested on July 12 for protesting against a proposed luxury hotel project near Kaziranga National Park. Police had alleged illegal entry into the Tea Tribe Museum and the hotel project site during the protest.
Notably, a local court in Golaghat had granted him bail on July 29, stating that there was no risk of evidence tampering as witnesses’ statements had already been recorded. However, the state government blocked his release by applying the NSA the very next day, alleging suspicious foreign funding.
This detention sparked intense protests across the state. The Congress party criticized the government’s move, calling it a conspiracy to unconstitutionally silence activists fighting for indigenous land rights and natural resources.
