Ghaziabad: A district court has rejected a review petition against the prohibitory orders imposed by the district magistrate at the farmers’ protest site at the UP Gate under Section 144 CrPC on January 20.
The petition had been filed by a senior lawyer, Nahar Singh Yadav, and a few of his colleagues. They had argued in court that the DM did not have the authority to impose prohibitory orders on a national highway, where the protest is going on.
Yadav, through his counsel, also told the court that the farmers had been protesting “peacefully” and claimed that the government had been trying to level baseless allegations against them.
The petitioners also argued that the Supreme Court had also not passed any order to end the protests around Delhi’s borders.
They said that the expressway where the farmers had been agitating did not fall under the jurisdiction of any municipal corporation or the district administration.
On the other hand, Rajesh Chandra Sharma, the government counsel, cited the Covid pandemic and said that the orders had been issued keeping in mind the safety of the farmers.
And since the protest could also affect the common people, the DM had imposed Section 144, he added.
Sharma also told the court that though the Constitution allowed the people the freedom of expression, Article 19 (2) also barred anyone from holding an assembly or conference that disrupted peace or put the sovereignty and integrity of the country or public order in jeopardy. “The DM, SDM or any other official empowered by the state government has the power to pass the said order in the event of any danger to human life and health,” he said.
After hearing both sides, district judge Neeraj Nigam rejected the petition.