Mumbai: The Bombay High Court has directed Maratha reservation activist Manoj Jarange and his protestors to vacate the streets of Mumbai by Tuesday noon. The court observed that they have violated the conditions of the permission granted for a peaceful protest and disrupted normal life in the city.
A special bench of Justices Ravindra Ghuge and Gautam Ankhad said that Jarange, organiser Virendra Pawar, and their association had “prima facie violated the conditions” of the permission. The judges stressed that the protestors no longer have valid approval to continue their agitation at Azad Maidan.
The court stated: “Since it is important that life of the common man in Mumbai is restored to normalcy and the city should not be brought to a standstill, more so during the Ganpati festival, we direct respondents to clean the streets and vacate the occupation of protestors until tomorrow forenoon.”
The case was heard after a petition by the Amy Foundation, which sought action against Jarange and his followers for violating earlier court orders and the new Rules on Regulating Public Gatherings and Agitations.
On August 26, the High Court had made it clear that Jarange could not hold any protest without prior permission, as public places cannot be occupied indefinitely. Later, the police allowed him to hold a one-day protest on August 29 at Azad Maidan, between 9 am and 6 pm, with a limit of 5,000 protestors. However, more than 25,000 protestors entered the city, far exceeding the permitted number.
