Bombay HC gives 3 weeks to Maharashtra ruling parties to reply on PIL against state bandh

Bombay High Court. File Pic

The Bombay High Court gave three weeks to the Shiv Sena, Congress and NCP to file their affidavits in response to a PIL challenging the one-day bandh called by the three ruling parties in Maharashtra in October last year.

The court also said if the three parties do not file their response, then "consequences will follow".

The public interest litigation (PIL) was filed by four senior citizens, including former Mumbai police commissioner Julio Ribeiro, challenging the one-day bandh called by the three constituents of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) on October 11, 2021, to protest the death of farmers in Uttar Pradesh's Lakhimpur Kheri.

A division bench of Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice MS Karnik said the political parties shall file their affidavits in three weeks if they wish to. "If not, then we (court) shall proceed to hear the plea without their replies. If they (political parties) do not file their affidavits, then consequences will follow," Chief Justice Datta said.

As per the plea, the bandh, called to express solidarity with the farmers' protest over the now scrapped agri laws and against the violence in Uttar Pradesh's Lakhimpur Kheri district on October 3, had caused a loss of Rs 3,000 crore to the public exchequer. The HC bench had in December 2021 directed the government and the political parties to file their affidavits. On Tuesday, additional government pleader Jyoti Chavan sought three more weeks to submit the affidavit.

Advocate R D Soni, appearing for the petitioners, told the court that no affidavit has so far been filed by any of the political parties, who are respondents in the petition. The petition sought the high court to declare the bandh as unconstitutional and illegal, and direct the three political parties to pay compensation to the affected citizens. The court on Tuesday granted three more weeks to the respondents to file their affidavits and posted the matter for further hearing after five weeks.

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