High Court directs police to ensure Ram Navami rallies do not disrupt law & order

High Court directs police to ensure Ram Navami rallies do not disrupt law & order

The Bombay High Court on Monday directed the police administration to make sure that rallies taken out during the upcoming Ram Navami festival do not create a law and order situation in some sensitive areas of Mumbai.

This was after advocate Karim Pathan, representing a petitioner from Malvani area of suburban Mumbai, submitted that there was a need to take some preventive measures as this was the third consecutive year when the tension was high in the Malvani area. “There have been FIRs registered in 2022 as well as 2023. They deliberately take out rallies from thickly populated minority areas and stop near mosques,” submitted Pathan.

At this, the bench of Justices Revati Mohite-Dere and Manjusha Deshpande told Maharashtra Advocate General Birendra Saraf to “Ensure that the routes are such…. they will ask for any routes, but you are well within your means to decide the routes.” The bench stressed that it cannot prevent any rallies from being held, but the police will have to take all measures to make sure that there is no law-and-order problem.

Pathan’s plea was being heard along with a petition filed by one Aftab Siddique and others against hate speeches by BJP MLA Nitesh Rane, Telangana’s BJP MLA T Raja Singh and independent MLA from Mira Bhayander, Geeta Jain, and the alleged resultant violence that took place earlier this year in the Mira Road area, few days before the consecration of the Ram idol in Ayodhya.

During an earlier hearing, the Bombay High Court had directed the Police Commissioners of the concerned areas, to view the audio-video transcripts of the speeches, alleged to be hate speeches, and to thereafter take an appropriate decision on the same. However, on Monday, Saraf submitted that they needed time to follow directions. The court granted them the time while directing that they ensure that no breaches take place.

“We cannot stop public rallies, but we expect your officers to take appropriate action, so there is no breach of law. If there is breach of law, it has to be looked into… irrespective. In another matter, we had granted permission on an undertaking that there would be no law-and-order problem. Still an FIR has been registered,” said the bench.

The bench also noted that Rane had addressed a press conference inside the office of the Mira-Bhayandar, Vasai-Virar Police Commissionerate on January 23, two days after the rioting took place in the area. He allegedly used offensive words towards the minority community while addressing the press conference. The bench on Monday said, “Cannot allow anybody speaking to media in government office like this. Ensure this does not happen (again).”

The bench will hear the petitions on April 23.

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