Fresh plea in High Court to ban anti-CAA stir

A division bench comprising Justice MM Sundresh and Justice Krishnan Ramasamy before whom the plea came up for hearing on Monday on recording the government pleader’s submission that a couple of pleas in this regard are already pending before them adjourned it to March 11, when all the matter would be clubbed and taken together.

The petitioner, Syed Ibrahim of Senkundram, had submitted that the liberty of right to protest granted in the Constitution is being misused by various Muslim outfits resorting to anti-CAA protests.

He said, since February 14 without any prior notice and permission, a group mostly consisting of women and children led by some Islamic outfits had gathered in large numbers and went on a flash protest in Old Washermenpet blocking roads and streets causing immense public disturbance and inconvenience. The efforts taken by police to pacify them to disperse peacefully went in vain. On the same night, a section of Muslims across Tamil Nadu came out protesting on even the national highways and blocked the roads throughout the night leading to traffic snarls and inconvenience to the general public and the movement of otheressential commodities.

The protestors agitating without any notice or permission from the police is a very dangerous trend and large number of protesters gathering in a matter of few hours, blocking roads and other public places with no fear of law and public order enforcement authorities. It is a dangerous trend and this has to be nipped in the bud as it may lead to organised violence within a few hours, the petitioner said.

Based on this, the plea sought to prevent the continuous protest in the larger interest of public, social peace and goodwill on alleging that majority of the Muslim population are not part of the protest and it is only a few hard-line Islamic organization who were misleading the people who arebehind the protest.