HC declines to stop rallies

HC declines to stop rallies

Bangalore: The Karnataka High Court on W ednesday declined to restrain the antiBush rally scheduled to be held here on Thursday jointly by the Communists, the Samajawadi Party and the All India Progressive Janata Dal.

A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Cyriac Joseph and Justice K Sreedhar Rao, however , admitted the petition and issued notices to the State government, among others.

B Krishna Bhat, social activist, sought a restraint on the rally as he apprehended it might not only disrupt normal life but also the traffic.

The Bench observed it is not inclined to grant any interim order as prayed for . There is no law or judicial pronouncement prohibiting holding of such rallies. The judgments of the Supreme Court are in respect of bandhs and hartals and there is no averment in the petition that the proposed rally is part of any bandh or hartal. Thus, there is no injunction by any court against the holding of the rally .

State s assurance: The government advocate told the court the State does not expect any disruption of normal life.

The police and the civil authorities have made necessary arrangements to ensure the rallies do not affect normal life or traffic.

Guidelines: The Bench said the political parties and the government can file within a month affidavits so that the court can formulate necessary guidelines on the issue of holding rallies.