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The Supreme Court on Friday issued notice to the government on a petition, which alleged that blanket orders under Section 144 were being passed citing elections.
A bench of Justices B R Gavai and Sandeep Mehta issued notice on the plea by activists Aruna Roy and Nikhil Dey, who sought “restraint on the indiscriminate practice of magistrates and state governments passing blanket orders under Section 144 of CrPC, 1973 to prohibit any and all meetings, gatherings, processions and dharnas ahead of every Lok Sabha or Vidhan Sabha elections until the declaration of results”. It said “these blanket prohibitory orders directly affect the civil society and general public from freely discussing, participating, organising, or mobilising on issues affecting them ahead of elections”.
Appearing for the petitioners, advocate Prashant Bhushan said the SC had earlier laid down that there ought to be some “well-founded apprehension of breach of peace” before Section 144 CrPC orders can be passed, and added that blanket orders were being passed in violation of this.
The bench wondered “how can such orders be passed”.
Bhushan said though they had moved applications for permission to conduct democracy yatra and public meetings aimed at educating people on elections, the same have not yet been decided.
The court, by way of interim order, also directed that “if any person makes such an application (seeking permission to conduct ‘yatras’ or public meetings for educating people on elections) before the competent authority, the same shall be decided within a period of three days”. The court will hear the matter again after two weeks.
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