Chief Justice T.S. Sivagnanam of Calcutta High Court on Thursday expressed anger and anguish over rallies that frequently choke the city’s roads and disrupt life in Kolkata.
Reacting to a petition moved before his division bench by a teachers’ association seeking an order to instruct the police to allow them to hold a rally on Y-Road in central Kolkata, Justice Sivagnanam said in the courtroom: “What is going on in the city? Every day several cases are coming to the court to allow them to hold rallies. Why? Do the rallyists not realise the problems and hazards of daily commuters due to regular rallies on the city’s streets?”
The Chief Justice declined to hear the petition before the Puja. “I do not find reason why there is so much urgency in holding the rallies. The normal functioning of the city is stalled due to at least 15 rallies occupying city thoroughfares on a regular basis,” he said.
The Chief Justice continued: “I wonder why rally organisers do not think about school-going children, about ambulances that are stuck and cannot move. The normal functioning of the city is completely paralysed.”
The reaction came after advocate Pratik Dhar, who was representing the teachers’ body, submitted a prayer for an “urgent motion” seeking the intervention of the court in instructing the police to allow a rally on Y-Road. The police had decline to give the permission.
Several associations, clubs and political parties have approached courts in the recent past making the same appeal seeking court’s intervention when their applications are turned down by the police.
According to the rule, permission to hold a rally or a meeting at a public placehas to be obtained from the police online. The police have the discretion to allow or reject such applications citing grounds for their decision. However, recently, there has been a trend to move court if an application is rejected by the police.
The Chief Justice continued to express his anger at traffic-choker rallies, saying: “Let the police charge lathis and burst tear gas shells on the rallyists, the court will not interfere. Daily at least 15 rallies are being organised. It is ridiculous.”
Justice Sivagnanam told advocate Dhar that he would not hear the matter as he did not see any urgency in it.
The advocate on record in the case, Sudip Ghosh Chowdhury, said the West Bengal Graduate Teachers’ Association wanted to hold a rally on Y-Road on Friday with their various demands including higher pay than that of ordinary “pass-course graduate” teachers.
Rallies
On a day the Chief Justice expressed displeasure at rallies chocking traffic, three processions starting and terminating at different locations disrupted traffic. Vehicles were stalled on Rani Rashmoni Avenue, SN Banerjee Road, Dorina crossing, Brabourne Road, Howrah bridge, India Exchange Place, Rabindra Sarani, Bentinck Street, Wellington Crossing, Rafi Ahmed Kidwai Road, JL Nehru Road, Lenin Sarani and AJC Bose Road.
