Mumbai Police Today (Aug 12) told the Bombay High Court that CPI(M) can hold a peaceful protest at Azad Maidan on August 20 against the Gaza genocide. The Court had earlier rejected a similar plea but the party reapplied and got permission.
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MAHARASHTRA: The Bombay High Court on Tuesday was informed that the Communist Party of India (Marxist), also known as CPI(M), has now received official permission from the Mumbai Police to hold a peaceful protest meeting at Azad Maidan on August 20 against what they have called the Israeli genocide in Gaza.
The information was given to a Bench of Justices Ravindra Ghuge and Gautam Ankhad by Senior Advocate Mihir Desai, who was representing CPI(M).
Desai told the Court that since the permission has now been granted, the meeting will take place between 3 pm and 6 pm on the given date.
He also assured the Court that the meeting would be peaceful and would strictly follow the Draft regulations for public meetings, agitations and processions under the Maharashtra Police Act. As per these draft rules, any such gathering can only be held in a fixed area inside Azad Maidan, and the organisers are responsible for ensuring there is no disturbance to law and order.
Earlier, on July 25, the same Bench had dismissed a similar petition by CPI(M) when the police had, on June 17, refused permission to the All India Peace and Solidarity Organisation (AIPSO) to protest at Azad Maidan on the Gaza issue.
At that time, the Court had also made sharp comments towards the party:
“You are looking at issues in Gaza and Palestine. Look at your own country. Be patriots. This is not patriotism. People say they are patriots.”
The judges had suggested that the party should focus more on local civic problems in India. The Court had further pointed out that India’s official foreign policy is different from CPI(M)’s position on the matter, and such protests could lead to diplomatic issues.
In its earlier order, the Court had also questioned why CPI(M) was filing the petition when it was actually the AIPSO whose request was rejected:
“The aggrieved party will be that Organisation which has to challenge the rejection order,”
-the Court had said.
The latest petition filed by CPI(M) was different. This time, they were directly challenging the Mumbai Police’s refusal to grant them permission to hold their own protest.
CPI(M) had applied on July 19 for permission, but when the Court gave its July 25 order, the application was still pending. Later, when the police formally rejected the request, CPI(M) filed a fresh petition in the High Court.
During the hearing on Monday, the Court had asked the State’s Additional Public Prosecutor to check if the protest could be allowed with conditions so that public order was not disturbed.
Senior Advocate Mihir Desai had also informed the Court that CPI(M) had already held a similar protest in Pune last week after getting permission from the authorities there.
On Tuesday, the Court was finally told that the permission for the Mumbai protest had been granted. With that update, the Bench disposed of the petition.
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