New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday agreed to hear Andhra Pradesh government's plea on Friday against the High Court's interim stay on the roadside public meetings, saying more fatalities will happen if the stay continues on the roadside political rallies.
Advocate Mahfooz Nazki mentioned the plea before a bench headed by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud and Justice PS Narasimha.
The government order was passed on January 2, refraining police from granting permission for such public meetings unless adequate and exceptional reasons were provided by the persons seeking to conduct such a meeting.
Impugned Govt Order of Regulatory Nature
Contending that HCs interim stay dated January 12, 2023 was procedurally improper and erroneous on merits, the plea said, “The Impugned GO is of a regulatory nature and is thus, clearly an administrative and policy matter.
"Thus, any order passed by a vacation bench regarding the Impugned GO, let alone staying its operation, is without jurisdiction since it is passed by coram non judice.”
The plea further states that impugned GO is merely a set of clarification guidelines regarding exercise of power by the police under Section 30 of the Police Act.
“It does not ban public assembly, either directly or indirectly. Instead, it merely reasonably regulates it. The recent instances of both fatalities and public inconvenience indicate that public safety and interest mandate that such meetings be avoided, unless in exceptional circumstances, and the Impugned GO merely advises the police to ideally act accordingly,” plea also stated.
