A plea to hold ‘All India Muslim Mahapanchayat’ at the Ramlila Maidan on October 29 was denied by the Delhi High Court on Wednesday. The court’s decision came after the Delhi police raised apprehensions over the possibility of “communal tensions” in Old Delhi.
The court denied Mission Save Constitution permission for the event, noting that “there are several festivals like Karva Chauth, Dhanteras, etc.” between Navratri and Deepavali, a period that is “extremely auspicious for the Hindu community”.
The organisers could approach the authorities for fresh permission “after the festive season is over”, it added.
On ‘constitutional rights’
Mission Save Constitution had moved the court after the Deputy Commissioner of Police (Central) on October 16 revoked an NOC issued earlier for the event. The organisation had argued that the programme was meant to educate people about their constitutional rights.
In the letter to the organisers, the DCP wrote that the police had been approached by “some people” who had objected to the event. The DCP said after the matter was reassessed by the Station House Officer (SHO) of the Kamla Market police station, it surfaced that the theme of the event was different from what the organisers had initially sought permission for.
The letter added that based on the language used in the event’s posters available on social media, its agenda “appears to be communal and that there is a strong apprehension that holding it during the festive season and at such a sensitive place may spread communal hatred, and dent the peace and tranquility of the area”.
‘Israel-Hamas conflict’
Amid the tension in West Asia due to the “ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, the authorities apprehend that such kind of events may lead to a law and order situation and spoil the atmosphere of Old Delhi”, the letter read.
Justice Subramonium Prasad, in his Wednesday order, observed that the event has been styled for the purpose of educating people about their constitutional rights, but the tenor of its posters indicates that it “can have communal overtones”, which may result in increasing “tensions in Old Delhi, which is a ‘sensitive’ area as people of different religions live here and communal violence in the area is not unknown”.
The court noted that it cannot ignore the apprehension raised by the SHO.
