KOLKATA: The
Calcutta High Court on Thursday asked the state to ensure that
arterial roads are not completely clogged due to
rallies and processions and a part of the carriageway is left free for
vehicular and pedestrian movement. The high court, however, left it to the state to build a consensus among all stakeholders on organising all rallies and processions on weekends or holidays.
Holding that the right to free movement was also a fundamental right under Article 19(1) D of the Constitution along with that to hold political rallies and processions, the court said one shouldn’t be allowed at the cost of the other.
The order, by the division bench of Chief Justice Jyotirmay Bhattacharya and Justice Arijit Banerjee, came on a PIL filed in 2015 seeking judicial intervention on the tendency to block entire stretches of roads for rallies and processions.
Three years back, the HC division bench presided by then Chief Justice Manjula Chellur and Justice Joymalya Bagchi had directed the petitioner to serve copies of his petition to all 38 political parties, both state and national, in Bengal.
“Among the political parties, only CPM was represented in the court by senior advocate Bikash Bhattacharya. He argued that the party doesn’t block entire road stretches during its processions and rallies,” said petitioner Srikanta Datta, himself a lawyer. The other parties either didn’t receive notices (eight party addresses were not found) or chose not to appear in court.
The state government had earlier told the court that it was trying to build a consensus among political parties to avoid workday rallies in the BBD Bag area and the education hubs of College Street and Jadavpur. On June 1, 2017, the Kolkata Police commissioner had even issued a notification banning rallies and processions in College Street on weekdays, but the order was later relaxed.
Datta said he had cited the example of a political party organising its foundation day in Esplanade in which all arterial roads were completely blocked. “I argued that for a 40-minute walk to reach the Calcutta High Court, I took four-hours to reach. I also produced photographs to harp my claims,” he said. The lawyer said I had argued in court that my petition was not against rallies and processions. “It is the fundamental right of any person to protest, but to do it they cannot take away from me my right to free movement,” he said.
The state – also the Kolkata Police – also submitted to court to ensure that such rallies and processions cause minimal trouble to normal commuters. It also submitted data highlighting that any illegalities have been prosecuted. It also mentioned the criminal cases initiated against individuals and group of persons for causing damage to public property or inconvenience to people during such agitations and rallies. The HC asked the state to proceed with the prosecution expeditiously.
This is not the first time that the high court has passed strictures against political events that affect life in the city. On September 29, 2003, Justice Amitava Lala had banned political rallies and meetings on Kolkata’s streets between 8am and 8pm on weekdays, triggering huge protests from all parties. The judge had initiated suo motu contempt proceedings after getting caught in a traffic jam due to a political procession. The order had sparked off a political debate on whether it infringes upon people’s right to assemble peacefully.
