HC refuses to stay Tipu Jayanti fete

BENGALURU: The High Court on Tuesday refused to interfere in the Tipu Jayanti celebrations by the state government.While rejecting the interim prayer for a stay, a division bench of Acting Chief Justice H G Ramesh and Justice P S Dinesh Kumar refused to stay the celebrations in the state, especially in Dakshina Kannada, Udupi and Kodagu districts.

The petitioner K M Manjunath from Kodagu had challenged the celebrations, citing law and order problem in these districts. He prayed the court to quash the government’s circular dated October 24 issued to celebrate Tipu Jayanti across the state.

During the hearing, the advocate general submitted that the petitioner need not tell the state  the measures to be taken by it to maintain law and order. Earlier, the counsel for the petitioner had referred to the communal tension during the Tipu Jayanti celebrations last year in Kodagu. He also spoke about the money to be spent by the government on such events. The Advocate General then submitted that the same set of facts were brought to the notice of the court by filing a similar petition last year, which were now repeated in this petition.