SC stays deregistration of partyies calling for hartal

The apex court also issued notices to State of Kerala, Director General of Kerala Police and the petitioner before the Kerala High Court Institute of Social Welfare.

The High Court had directed the EC to take a decision on complaints against a party calling for hartal, and after a fair hearing, take a "decision for deregistration of that party or organisation, if it is warranted by the circumstances of that case."

Appearing for Congress party, former Attorney General K Parasaran said the question of law was whether the High Court was competent under Article 226 of the Constitution to direct EC to start proceedings for deregistration of a political party when under the Representation of Peoples Act there was no provision for deregistration.

In 1997, the Kerala High Court had held that calling of bandh and the enforcement of that call was illegal and unconstitutional. This judgement was upheld by the apex Court.

Petitions were filed in the Kerala High Court complaining that coercion was used for implementation of hartals called by political parties and that though the apex cout had made a distinction between hartals and bandhs, a hartal accompanied by threats of violence would be unconstitutional.

After hearing the parties, the High Court had declared that the "enforcement of a hartal call by force, intimidation, physical or mental and coercion would amount to an unconstitutional act and a party has no right to enforce it by resorting to force or intimidation."

Appearing for CPM, senior advocate Rajiv Dhawan said the power to deregister was a drastic power and Section 29A of RP Act, which provided for registration of political parties, did not include the power to deregister a party.

Giving an example, the Congress party said a party might call for hartal and its implementation through peaceful means. Merely because its implementation at one or two places was done the way bandhs were enforced at the spur of the moment, initiating deregistration process against the party would be uncalled for.

"Even if a political party calls for a peaceful demonstration, some other miscreants could use force and land the political party in trouble, which will have a drastic consequence and democratic rights would stand infracted," it said.