The Calcutta High Court on Thursday gave its nod to the Bharatiya Janta Party for carrying out its ‘Save Democracy’ Rath Yatra in West Bengal. The verdict of the court comes as a major setback to the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress government which had refused permission for the proposed 'rath yatra', citing intelligence reports of possible communal violence in areas where the party is planning to take out the rallies.
The court rejected the reasoning of the Bengal government and said it would be "appropriate to permit the petitioner to hold the rally... to organise the yatras". "The petitioner will inform the police authorities,superintendent of district where the yatra shall enter, at least 12 hours before entering the concerned district. The commissioner will ensure conducting yatra in peaceful manner," the plea read.
The BJP's counsel, SK Kapoor, said the decision to deny permission was pre-determined. "In the worst days of the British period, Mahatma Gandhi held the Dandi march", he said, but "now the government here says it won't allow a political procession."
The West Bengal government, he said, was trying to forcibly stop a political party from organizing processions -- a right guaranteed by the Constitution.
On December 6, a single-judge bench of the high court refused to give the BJP permission to hold the yatra. The party then approached the division bench, which on December 7 asked the asked the West Bengal chief secretary, the home secretary and the state police chief to meet with three BJP representatives and take a decision on the yatra by December 14.