Latest news with #AgitationsandProcessionsRules
Hindustan Times
5 days ago
- Politics
- 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.
Indian Express
6 days ago
- Politics
- Indian Express
Will allow CPI(M) to hold ‘peaceful assembly' against Gaza ‘genocide' on August 20: Mumbai police to HC
The Mumbai police Tuesday informed the Bombay High Court that they have granted permission to the Communist Party of India (Marxist) to hold a 'peaceful assembly' at Azad Maidan against the 'genocide' in Gaza. Appearing for the CPI(M), Senior Advocate Mihir Desai submitted that as the police have granted permission to hold the assembly, it would be organised between 3 and 6 pm on August 20. Desai also submitted that the CPI-M will 'strictly' follow the prohibitions and responsibilities prescribed for organisers under the draft regulations of Public Meetings, Agitations and Processions Rules, 2025, proposed under the Maharashtra Police Act, 1951. On July 25, a division bench of Justices Ravindra V Ghuge and Gautam Ankhad dismissed a plea by the CPI (M) seeking direction from the court to allow peaceful protest at Azad Maidan on the Gaza issue. The bench noted that the petitioner had no locus standi (legal standing) to challenge the decision of the police, as it was not an applicant seeking permission for protest. The Mumbai police on July 17 rejected the application of All India Peace and Solidarity Foundation (AIPSF) to stage a protest on the Gaza issue. Justice Ghuge orally remarked that instead of being 'short-sighted', the petitioner should focus on issues in India. 'Look at your own country. Be patriots. This is not patriotism.. Speak up for the causes in our own country.' However, after filing the earlier petition on July 10, the CPI (M) made an application on July 19 to the Mumbai police seeking permission to hold a protest meeting, and it was pending when the HC passed an order on July 25. Justice Ghuge-led bench noted that the Mumbai police should decide upon the pending application by the CPI (M) on merits, and the same be communicated to the party. After the police rejected the CPI(M)'s application, the party filed a fresh petition before the High Court challenging the refusal. On Tuesday, Additional Public Prosecutor S V Gaand, on specific instructions, submitted before a bench led by Justice Ghuge that statutory authority would allow the CPI (M) to hold a peaceful assembly on August 20, and it will have to follow the prescribed rules. After Desai, for the petitioner, said it will strictly follow the rules for such assemblies, the HC disposed of the plea. Another bench of HC led by Chief Justice Alok Aradhe in March this year directed the state government to notify rules to regulate public meetings, agitations, and processions in Mumbai, and implement them in 'letter and spirit.' Mumbai police commissioner prepared the draft rules as per court directives under Section 33 (power to make rules for regulation of traffic and for preservation of order in a public place) of the 1951 Act, and provided for peaceful protests without affecting law and order to be held at the designated area of Azad Maidan. As per draft regulations, part of Azad Maidan opposite the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) headquarters has been identified for conducting sit-ins, agitations, gatherings, meetings, protests, and morchas, and no such activity will be allowed in the South Mumbai area.
