Speaking for Gaza ‘not patriotism’: Bombay HC refuses permission for protest, says ‘do something for our own country’

CPM approached court after Mumbai police refused permission to hold a peaceful protest at Azad Maidan to condemn the ‘ongoing genocide in Gaza’

MUMBAI: “Why don’t you do something for our own country? Be patriots,” the Bombay High Court said on Friday while dismissing a petition filed by the Communist Party of India (Marxist), seeking permission to hold a “peaceful protest” at Azad Maidan against the “genocide in Gaza”.

Displaced Palestinians flee from their homes in Gaza amid the ongoing Israeli military offensive. (AP File)

Stating that the political party needs to focus on issues in its own country, a division bench of justices Ravindra Ghuge and Gautam Ankhad added, “Speaking for Gaza and Palestine is not patriotism.”

The party had approached the high court on July 10, claiming that the Mumbai police had refused it permission to hold a peaceful protest at Azad Maidan to condemn the ongoing genocide in Gaza.

According to the petition, some members of the CPI (M), under the banner of All India Peace and Solidarity Organisation (AIPSO), 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.

However, the police allegedly 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.

Senior advocate Mihir Desai, representing the political party, argued that the country’s citizens have the right to protest at a designated place. He contended that even if the protest was against the country’s foreign policy, the possibility of a law and order situation cannot be used as a reason to deny such rights to the citizens.

However, the high court rejected the petition, stating that the political party should focus on its own country rather than on issues thousands of miles away.

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.