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Till January 23, HC puts on hold Jagan govt’s ban on rallies
On January 3, the Jagan government issued the order banning holding of public meetings and rallies, addressing public gatherings and conducting roadshows on all types of roads, including state and national highways on the grounds of public safety
Hyderabad : The Andhra Pradesh high court on Thursday kept in abeyance till January 23 the order brought in by the Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy government prohibiting conduct of roadshows, rallies, and public meetings on public roads in the state.
A division bench comprising Justice B Devanand and Justice Krupasagar issued interim orders to this effect after hearing a petition filed by Communist Party of India (CPI) state secretary K Ramakrishna on Wednesday.
Stating that the GO appeared to be against the rules, the high court bench posted the case to January 20 for further hearing after asking the state government to file a counter affidavit on the petition by then, Ramakrishna told reporters.
The CPI leader in his public interest litigation (PIL) petition said that the YSR Congress Party government was trying to suppress the voice of dissent by the opposition in the state by preventing them from taking out rallies on the roads. He said the police could only control the crowds in a rally but had no right to deny the right to take out rallies by the political parties.
Advocate general Subrahmanyam Sriram, arguing on behalf of the state government, said the government had no information about the PIL filed by Ramakrishna. He argued that according to the rules, such PILs cannot be included in the roster, as the vacation bench should not hear petitions related to decisions of the government.
On January 3, the Jagan government issued the order banning holding of public meetings and rallies, addressing public gatherings and conducting roadshows on all types of roads, including state and national highways on the grounds of public safety.
The order was issued in the wake of two stampedes at the public rallies of Telugu Desam Party president N Chandrababu Naidu in a span of four days claiming 11 lives – eight at Kandukuru in Nellore district on December 28 and three at Guntur town on January 1.
In the GO, state home secretary Harish Kumar Gupta specifically cited the stampede incident at Kandukuru as the immediate reason for imposing the ban on roadshows and rallies on the roads. He quoted sections 30, 30A and 31 of Police Act, 1861, which call for regulation of assembly of people and processions on public roads and public streets.
A day later, the police imposed severe restrictions on the roadshows proposed to be conducted by Naidu at his native constituency Kuppam in Chittoor district. The police seized his vehicle and microphones, forcing him to walk down in the villages to meet the people.
