Court asks police why anti-Gaza war protest can be allowed in Pune but not Mumbai
The Left parties have been seeking permission to hold a protest at Azad Maidan — a designated protest site near Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus — as part of a global call to condemn the Gaza conflict and demand a ceasefire.The parties said their demonstration would express solidarity with Palestinians facing "genocide" and with the international movement pressing for humanitarian aid to be allowed into the region.According to their plea, the first request for permission was made on June 13 under the banner of the All India Peace and Solidarity Organisation (AIPSO).The Azad Maidan police rejected it on June 17, citing concerns that the protest's focus on an international issue might contradict India's foreign policy and trigger objections from political, social, and religious groups, leading to possible law and order problems.Two more applications — on June 25 and July 19 — were also denied, the latest rejection coming on July 15. The parties then approached the High Court, which earlier directed the police to decide the pending application and suggested they focus on local issues.The petitioners have argued that the police's reasoning is "untenable" since their protest aligns with the Ministry of External Affairs' stated position calling for a ceasefire and humanitarian relief in Gaza. They also stressed that even if their views were to differ from the government's stance, they have a fundamental right in a democracy to express them.The prosecution is expected to respond to the court on Tuesday.- EndsMust Watch
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hans India
10 minutes ago
- Hans India
HC: Aadhaar, PAN, voter ID don't make one a citizen
Mumbai: A person does not become a citizen of India merely by possessing documents like Aadhaar card, PAN card or a voter ID, the Bombay High Court on Tuesday said while refusing bail to a man, allegedly from Bangladesh, for entering India illegally. The man is accused of staying in India for more than a decade with forged and fabricated documents. A bench of Justice Amit Borkar said provisions of the Citizenship Act lay down who can be a citizen of India and how citizenship can be acquired and documents such as the Aadhaar card, PAN card and voter ID are only meant for identification or availing services. The court refused bail to Babu Abdul Ruf Sardar, alleged to be a Bangladeshi national, who entered India illegally without a valid passport or travel documents. He allegedly procured forged Indian documents such as Aadhaar card, PAN card, voter ID and also an Indian passport. In 1955, Parliament passed the Citizenship Act which created a permanent and complete system for acquiring citizenship, Justice Borkar noted. "In my opinion, the Citizenship Act of 1955 is the main and controlling law for deciding questions about nationality in India today. This is the statute that lays down who can be a citizen, how citizenship can be acquired and in what situations it can be lost," he said. "Merely having documents such as Aadhaar card, PAN card or voter ID does not, by itself, make someone a citizen of India. These documents are meant for identification or availing services, but they do not override the basic legal requirements of citizenship as prescribed in the Citizenship Act," the HC said. The law draws a clear line between lawful citizens and illegal migrants, the bench said. People falling in the category of illegal migrants are barred from obtaining citizenship through most of the legal routes mentioned in the Citizenship Act, it added. "This distinction is important because it protects the sovereignty of the country and ensures that benefits and rights meant for citizens are not wrongfully taken by those who have no legal status to stay in India," the court said.
Time of India
33 minutes ago
- Time of India
How do Israelis see Gaza war, Palestinian suffering?
People demanding release of all Israeli hostages (AP) As the Israeli government works on expanding its military campaign in the occupied Gaza Strip, it is coming under increasing domestic criticism. Over the weekend, the country saw some of the biggest protests against the ongoing military campaign in Gaza, with tens of thousands of Israelis on the streets. There are still around 50 Israeli hostages being held by the militant Hamas group inside the Gaza Strip, and their families fear President Benjamin Netanyahu's new Gaza plan will only further endanger their loved ones. "We know that a decision to occupy more land is going to put the lives of the hostages at risk," Gil Dickmann, the cousin of hostage Carmel Gat, who was killed by her captors, told DW. "That's exactly what happened to Carmel. She was in Rafah, they [the Israeli army] decided to occupy Rafah. Her guards decided to execute her and [five] other hostages," Dickmann said. "We know that the only way to get them back alive is with a deal [for] all of them," added Naama Shueka, a cousin of Evyatar David, the Israeli hostage recently seen in a video released by Hamas. "So we are shouting: Please stop [the fighting]. Please save our loved ones. Please don't let them starve to death." Majority of Israelis want a deal The number of Israelis who agree with the hostages' families is growing. Ongoing surveys by the Israel Democracy Institute (IDI), a non-partisan think tank, show how attitudes have changed. In mid-October 2023, shortly after the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel, only 17% of Israeli thoughttheir government should negotiate to free the hostages even if that meant ending thefighting. By the anniversary of the attac, 53% felt that way. In mid-July this year, a poll conducted by local Israeli media outlet Channel 12 showed that 74% of Israelis supported their government reaching an agreement with Hamas in order to free all the hostages and end fighting in Gaza. No sympathy for Gaza While the majority of Israelis say they want to get the hostages back, save Israeli soldiers' lives and disapprove of the Netanyahu's government's conduct, other research indicates they don't feel much sympathy for Palestinians, nor do they like the idea of cooperating with them. For an IDI survey conducted at the end of July, researchers asked, "to what extent are you personally troubled or not troubled by the reports of famine and suffering among the Palestinian population in Gaza?" Over three-quarters of Jewish Israelis — 79% — were not that troubled or not troubled at all. Jewish Israelis also said they believe the Israeli military is doing enough to avoid unnecessary suffering. Arab Israelis took the opposite view, with 86% being very or somewhat troubled by reports of famine and suffering. In the past, the IDI has also asked Israelis about the most important reason for ending the war. Over half said it was important to free the remaining hostages. Only 6% argued the war should end because "of the great cost in human life" and a desire for peace. It is true that more people are now talking about what's happening in Gaza, one Tel Aviv resident told DW. This resident requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject. "But the general focus is on the hostages and the soldiers and a reluctance to become embroiled in an endless war." Gazans and Israelis are living very different realities, they noted. "Then again, the 17-year blockade of Gaza, with all its devastating consequences for the population before the war — and just an hour's drive from Tel Aviv — also didn't really interest people in Israel," the Tel Aviv resident said. Extremist attitudes now mainstream? In March 2025, Tamir Sorek, a professor at Pennsylvania State University who studies how culture relates to the Israel-Palestinian conflict, commissioned a poll which found 82% of Jewish Israelis could imagine having Palestinians expelled from Gaza completely. Judging by that March 2025 poll, Sorek concluded that what were once considered marginal, extremist attitudes about the Palestinians had now migrated to the Israeli mainstream. "They date back to the 1930s," Sorek wrote, "and have gained steam — and more public acceptance — as prospects for peace fell apart in the 1990s, existential anxiety among Israelis has grown, and religious Zionists have gained more political power in the 21st century." A March 2025 poll by the US' Pew Research Center found only 21% of Israelis think Israel and a Palestinian state can coexist peacefully, part of the so-called two-state solution. That was the lowest percentage since 2013, researchers
Hindustan Times
2 hours ago
- Hindustan Times
Police allow CPI (M) to hold ‘peaceful assembly' at Azad Maidan over ‘Gaza genocide'
MUMBAI: The Mumbai police have allowed the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI (M)) to hold a peaceful assembly at Azad Maidan on August 20 to condemn the ongoing 'genocide in Gaza', the Bombay high court was informed on Tuesday. 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.
