Bombay HC bars Aug 24 Maharashtra Bandh over Badlapur sexual assault, orders preventive measures

Bombay High Court/ File Photo

The Bombay High Court has issued an injunction prohibiting any political parties and people from participating in the Maharashtra bandh scheduled for August 24 or any subsequent dates. The opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance had called the bandh to protest the Badlapur sexual assault. A sweeper at a school sexually assaulted two kindergarten girls in Badlapur, Thane district, reported PTI.

Per the news agency report, after hearing two petitions submitted by attorneys Subhash Jha and Gunaratan Sadavarte, a division bench chaired by Chief Justice DK Upadhyaya and Justice Amit Borkar imposed the order. The court's ruling is based on a July 2004 decision that found enforcing a bandh or hartal unlawful, subject to legal action, and compensation for any ensuing damage.

The Bombay High Court urged the Maharashtra government and all relevant officials, including the Chief Secretary and Director General of Police, to strictly execute the judgement and avoid any disruptions, the report added.

The HC said, "Until further orders all concerned are restrained from proceeding with the call for bandh on August 24 and also on any other further date."

Speaking further on bandh called to protest Badlapur sexual assault, the HC said, "We are, prima facie, convinced that the call given by the political parties is a call to observe bandh tomorrow in the entire state of Maharashtra, which means a call for cessation of all kinds of activities which will result in the life of the state coming to a halt, that may entail heavy loss to industrial activities, business activities, economic activities and other such activities."

The court said that the bandh "was likely to affect not only the studies of children and other students but will also impact adversely the emergency services such as health services and other public conveniences like supply of electricity and water and the services of local trains in Mumbai" and that it was needles to say that "at this juncture that local trains in Mumbai are its lifeline and in case the call of bandh is permitted to be observed, the entire life of Mumbai may likely come to a halt'.

"The consequences of a bandh will be borne by the citizens including school-going children, daily wagers, office-going persons, businesspersons, factory workers, shop-keepers, persons employed in the service sector and government servants," the judges said and added, 'The bandh may lead to crippling the life of the entire Maharashtra."

It further added, "We direct the state government and all its functionaries including the Chief Secretary, Additional Chief Secretary (Home), Director General of Police and all district Collectors to strictly enforce the guidelines prescribed in the 2004 judgment."

Advocate General Birendra Saraf claimed that the bandh request was illegal and promised that the state government would take all necessary precautions to protect people and property. He stated that, while notices had been given, no arrests had occurred thus far, the PTI report stated.

"The state government will take all steps to ensure there is no damage or destruction of human lives or property. The state will do its duty but everyone has constitutional responsibilities which they should abide by," Saraf told the court per PTI report.

Reportedly, the petitioners cited a Kerala High Court decision, underlining that no political party should be permitted to arrange a statewide bandh, noting past examples such as the Maratha reservation protests, which caused major public harm.

Following the court's decision, Sharad Pawar, the head of the NCP (SP) and a significant figure in the MVA, asked the bandh to be called off, the report added.

With PTI inputs