Police allow CPI (M) to hold ‘peaceful assembly' at Azad Maidan over ‘Gaza genocide'
The permission comes after the party's second petition before the high court, after the first was rejected on July 25. In the second petition filed on August 4, advocate Rishika Agarwal requested to quash the courts earlier orders and allow the party to hold a peaceful protest at a designated area concerning the Israel-Palestine war.
Senior advocate Mihir Desai, representing the CPI(M) said the party wanted to hold the peaceful assembly on August 20 between 3pm and 6 pm. He assured the court that the party will abide by the Draft Regulations of Public Meetings, Agitations and Processions Rules, 2025, under the Maharashtra Police Act, 1951.
The rule earmarks Azad Maidan to be the designated area for conducting any assembly, protest, strikes, etc., in a regulated manner. The act also includes some prohibitions and responsibilities during such meetings. Provocative speeches are not allowed, and the gathering must adhere to law and order and must be conducted in coordination with the police.
It further encloses certain prohibitions and responsibilities during the conduct such meetings, such as, non-usage of provocative speeches, coordination with the public authority, maintaining law and order, etc.
According to the first petition, some members of the CPI (M), under the banner of the All India Peace and Solidarity Organisation (AIPSO), had approached the Azad Maidan police station on June 13 to seek permission for the protest. They highlighted that the protest was being organised by representatives of various political parties and civil society organisations.
The police denied their request, stating that the protest was regarding an international issue, and various political, social, and religious organisations had raised objections to it, raising concerns of an adverse law and order situation.
On June 18, police personnel also visited the homes of certain CPI (M) members who were organising the protests and detained them, the petition said. They were physically prevented from entering Azad Maidan, and around 30 people were detained at the Yellow Gate police station, it added.
The petition stated that while the legal proceedings of the matter were awaiting a conclusion, the police, on July 15, had yet again denied the party the approval for the protest. Further, on July 25, the division bench of justices Ravindra Ghuge and Gautam Ankhad had dismissed the petition, asking the political party to focus on issues in its own country.
The latest Israel-Gaza war, which began on October 7, 2023, has resulted in the deaths of over 61,800 people, including approximately 59,866 Palestinians and 1,983 Israelis, according to the Gaza Health Ministry and the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
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