Protest meet: Madras HC seeks details of DMK’s applications to police

Justice R Mahadevan, before whom the plea came up for hearing on Monday, wondered as to how DMK’s plea for a general declaration that the officials’ decision to reject its application as illegal could be entertained as they were able to cite only a single instance of refusal at Karur district.

Appearing for DMK, senior counsel P Wilson submitted that the party had issued a notification of holding such public meetings under the title of “Commission, Collection, Corruption” at 118 places on September 23. Thereafter, the local DMK units had sent in applications to the police the following day, but there has been no response from the police since then. This created an apprehension that the police were bent on thwarting the DMK from holding the meetings on the scheduled date, he said.

Alleging that the DGP has taken an informal decision not to give permission for any such meeting by the DMK, he said the authorities cannot impose unreasonable restrictions and suspend the fundamental right of the citizens.

However, Advocate General Vijay Narayan presented an application wherein the permission to hold such a meeting was sought only on Saturday, and said the police must be offered a reasonable time to consider the applications. He added that the police have received 81 such applications that were being processed.

Noting that a court cannot issue any declaration based on some alleged informal decision by the DGP, Justice Mahadevan directed DMK’s counsel to submit the applications presented to the police and posted the case for further hearing to Wednesday.

Chennai: Taking a serious view of the illegal and fraudulent sale of PDS rice, the Madras High Court on Monday directed the Additional Public Prosecutor (APP) to file a report on the loss caused to the exchequer and the steps taken against those smuggling the essential commodity. A division bench, comprising justices N Kirubakaran and P Rajamanickam, was disposing of a habeas corpus petition by Sowjanya, wife of Amarnath of Vellore district, challenging his detention under the Prevention of Black Marketing and Maintenance of Supplies of Essential Commodities Act 1980. The bench directed APP to also file details from where the rice had been bought by Amarnath and who sold it to him.

The government cannot waste public money in the guise of policy decisions, observed the Madras High Court on Monday. The court made this observation while permitting the DMK to withdraw petitions following the winding up of the Justice Reghupathi Commission that probed the allegations of irregularities in the construction of the new secretariat complex.