Kolkata, August 10: The Kolkata High Court has granted conditional permission for a protest rally against the West Bengal government’s order to remove microphones and loudspeakers from all religious sites. This decision was made by a single-judge bench on Monday.
The rally is set for Tuesday and follows a petition filed after the Kolkata police denied permission for the event. CPI(M) leader Abdul Samad, represented by lawyer Sabyasachi Chattopadhyay, brought the case before Justice Sougata Bhattacharya.
During the second session of the hearing on Monday, Justice Bhattacharya’s bench approved the rally with certain restrictions. The proposed route for the rally was limited to Rajabazar in North Kolkata to Rani Rashmoni Road in Central Kolkata. However, the court restricted the route to Rajabazar-Maulali in Central Kolkata.
According to the court’s order, the rally must begin at 11 AM and conclude within one hour. The use of microphones or loudspeakers during the rally is prohibited.
Justice Bhattacharya expressed displeasure over the police’s last-minute denial of permission. He questioned why the police informed about the denial on the evening of August 7, despite the application being submitted on August 3.
During the hearing, Advocate General Surjit Nath Mitra informed the court that the denial was due to some undisclosed information in the application.
Additionally, a public interest litigation was filed on Monday before a bench led by Acting Chief Justice Tapobrata Chakraborty, seeking the withdrawal of the state government’s order to remove microphones and loudspeakers from all religious sites. The court has accepted the public interest litigation, but the date for the first hearing is yet to be announced.
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