New Delhi, Oct 3: The Centre on Thursday told the Supreme Court that the prohibitory orders issued by Delhi Police have been withdrawn. Solicitor General (SG) Tushar Mehta, the second highest law officer of the Centre, made the above statement before a bench headed by CJI D.Y. Chandrachud when senior advocate Menaka Guruswamy mentioned a plea challenging the prohibitory orders for urgent listing.
“The Commissioner prohibits gatherings of five or more persons. This impacts the city. Navratri season is on, Dussehra is on, and Ramleela cannot take place. Devotees come from Haryana and Uttar Pradesh,” submitted Guruswamy.
At this, CJI Chandrachud said, “Solicitor General says that order by the Commissioner of Police has been withdrawn.” SG Mehta said that similar matters are listed for hearing on Thursday before a bench headed by the Chief Justice of Delhi High Court. The position was rebutted by Guruswamy who sought the recording of the statement made by the law officer, CJI Chandrachud said that police are a central subject in the national capital and prohibitory orders have been withdrawn.
A public interest litigation was filed before the top court seeking quashing of the order passed on September 30 by the Commissioner of Police under Section 163 of the Bhartiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, equivalent to erstwhile Section 144 of the CrPC, in the districts of New Delhi, North and Central, as well as on all state borders of Delhi till October 5.
The plea filed by the priest of the famous Kalkaji temple said that in light of the prohibitory order passed by the Delhi Police, the “commencement of festivities across the city and long-standing traditions observed by innumerable residents of Delhi is in jeopardy for no constitutionally valid reason”.
“Given that the highly religiously significant period of the Navratas begins on October 3, any assemblies to celebrate the festivities in the notified areas will be adversely affected,” it added. The plea, filed through advocate Prateek Chadha, said that the impugned orders will have a chilling effect on the rights of the petitioner as well as those of many other citizens who are celebrating the Navratri in these areas under Articles 14, 19, 21 and 25 of the Constitution of India.
“The petitioner is constrained to file the instant writ petition on account of the wholly illegal, perverse, and unnecessary action of the respondent (authorities) while promulgating the order since the same is not on account of any urgent nuisance, apprehended danger, or other public safety concerns that Section 163 of BNSS requires,” contended the petition.
Under the Section 163 order, there was a prohibition on the assembly of five or more unauthorised persons, carrying of firearms, banners, placards, lathis and so on, ‘picketing or dharnas in public areas.
IANS