HC restrains Jarange-Patil from holding protest at Azad Maidan

The Bombay High Court has barred activist Manoj Jarange-Patil from protesting at Azad Maidan without prior police permission under new rules.

HEAD: HC restrains Jarange-Patil from holding protest at Azad Maidan

Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange Patil said he will still hold his protest at Azad Maidan despite what the court said. (HT Archive / Raju Shinde)

STRAP: Maratha activist will need to take permission under the state’s rules on public agitation formulated on Tuesday

MUMBAI: Two days before Manoj Jarange-Patil’s planned indefinite hunger strike at Azad Maidan for quota benefits for Marathas from the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category, the Bombay high court stopped the activist in his tracks. The HC said that Jarange-Patil could not hold his protest without obtaining prior permission from the police authorities under the Public Meetings, Agitations and Processions Rules, 2025, which were notified on Tuesday itself.

Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice Sandeep Marne said that Jarange-Patil and his associates could move an application for permission to hold a protest in accordance with the newly promulgated rules. It also granted the state liberty to offer the protestors an alternative place in Kharghar. The court passed the order on a public interest litigation petition filed by an NGO, the Amy Foundation, which argued that the proposed protest, coinciding with the ten-day Ganesh festival, would cause immense inconvenience to citizens and hinder policing duties.

Jarange-Patil, however, said he would go ahead with his Azad Maidan plan at any cost. The activist had set a deadline of August 27 for the state government, warning that failure to meet it would trigger a mass mobilisation in Mumbai, culminating in his fast unto death. Jarange-Patil’s call has drawn support across rural Maharashtra, where his earlier protests saw large gatherings and compelled the government to engage with him.

Appearing for the state, advocate-general Birendra Saraf submitted that the police had not received any application for the protest from Jarange-Patil’s Amaran Uposhan Antarwali Sarati, although a communication had been sent to the district collector and police authorities on July 28. Informing the court that under the newly notified Public Meetings, Agitations and Processions Rules, 2025, any protest would require formal permission from the authorities, he added that the Ganesh festival demanded extensive police deployment across Mumbai and allowing a large-scale agitation in the city centre during this period would create serious challenges for maintaining public order and safety.

Accepting the arguments of the state government, the court, while acknowledging the significance of the cause, emphasised that dissent must be channelled through lawful and orderly means. “Democracy and dissent go hand in hand, but demonstrations must be conducted at designated places and after due permission from the competent authorities. Public spaces cannot be occupied indefinitely to the detriment of ordinary citizens,” said the bench.

Jarange-Patil was unfazed by the court’s ruling. “We respect the HC but we will approach it again,” he said. “In the past, it has conceded the fundamental right of people to protest at Azad Maidan. We will follow all its conditions. There could be restrictions because of the Ganesh festival but our rights cannot be denied.”

Jarange-Patil also criticised chief minister Devendra Fadnavis. “The state government is trying to stymie us, as the CM has realised that he made a mistake by ignoring us,” he said. “The court should ask the CM why he did not heed our demands for the last four months after the Azad Maidan protest was announced.”

The state government swung into action after Jarange-Patil announced that he would travel to Mumbai at any cost. Fadanvis’ officer on special duty Rajendra Sable met the activist in Antarwali Sarati on Tuesday morning to discuss the protest plan. A cabinet subcommittee on Maratha reservation led by water resources minister Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil held a meeting in Mantralaya to discuss the demands of the quota activist. DGP Rashmi Shukla met Fadnavis and briefed him about the plan to tackle the protesters who are expected to flock to Mumbai in huge numbers.

After the meeting, Vikhe Patil said the government was working on the demands. “We have given an extension of six months to the Shinde committee which is working on the Kunbi certificates issue by studying the Hyderabad, Satara and Bombay gazetteers,” he said. “We have also consulted the law and judiciary department on the legal issues.”

Jarange-Patil also alleged that Fadnavis had tried to create hurdles when Shinde was handling the reservation issue and was stalling him even now. Fadnavis dismissed the charges. “I don’t need to pay attention to such statements, as they haven’t come from Shinde,” he said. “All three ruling partners are working unitedly and nobody can create a rift between us.”