Grant permission to BJP MLA T Raja Singh’s rally with conditions: Bombay HC directs Mira Road police

A division bench of Justices Revati Mohite-Dere and Justice Shivkumar G Dige was hearing a plea by one Naresh Ramu Nile seeking to quash orders issued by Mira Road and Kashmira Road police. The petitioner sought permission for him and the BJP leader to carry out a process and address the rally.

Advocate Suresh Kulkarni for petitioner argued that although several cases were registered against the BJP leader in Telangana as well as Maharashtra for alleged hate speeches, no case had been registered against him after the Supreme Court order of January 17 in the hate speech cases matter.

Kulkarni submitted that the HC’s Aurangabad bench had earlier this month quashed an order of authorities which had refused permission to the rally in Chopda city in Jalgaon district and had asked police to grant permission by imposing necessary conditions. He added that the BJP leader had given an undertaking of no hate speech and abided by the same during the February 21 rally.

Public Prosecutor Hiten Venegaonkar for state government opposed the plea arguing that there was an apprehension of some untoward incident in the procession or at Mira Road rally. He added that on January 22, when Ram Mandir Pran Pratishtha ceremony took place in Ayodhya, violence had taken place in Mira-Bhayander area and therefore police’s refusal to the February 25 rally was justified due to apprehension of law and order problems between two sects.

Venegaonkar added that several cases are registered against the BJP leader for giving hate speeches in various states including Maharashtra and apprehended that he may indulge in hate speech again at the rally in question, therefore denial of permission was justified.

However, the petitioner submitted that the place where rally is to be held is nearly 1.9 km away from the area where the violence had taken place and that the BJP leader will abide by all the terms and conditions imposed by authorities including change of route for the procession. The starting point (Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj statue road) and end point (Silver Park SK Stone) should not be disturbed by the police, as all arrangements are already made, advocate Kulkarni added, to which the police said they will only decide the route.

The bench noted that it was ‘conscious’ of several cases being registered against one of the main speakers T Rajasingh Thakur. However, it referred to the February 20 order of the Aurangabad bench of HC which granted permission for Jalgaon rally and said similar grounds were raised by authorities to deny permission.

The bench also noted that the offences registered against the BJP MLA in Solapur were prior to the January 17 order which had permitted his rally on certain terms and conditions.

“We may note that thereafter, not a single case has been registered as against T Rajasingh Thakur,” the HC order reads.

Kulkarni submitted that Nile as well as the BJP leader are ready to give an undertaking to the Deputy Commissioner of Police of Zone-I, Mira Bhayander, that they will abide by all the terms and conditions imposed by the authorities and will follow the route, given by the police authorities and will not make any hate speech. The court accepted the statement by the petitioner’s lawyer and, allowing the plea, asked them to file an undertaking on Friday.