‘Peaceful protest is a constitutional right’: 140 HC lawyers question Mumbai Police’s prohibitory orders | Mumbai News

It further said that “mass detention and arrests by the Mumbai police are also concerning” in the context of the recent prohibitory orders issued under the Maharashtra Police Act, 1951. The lawyers said constitutional courts have repeatedly held that restrictions on the right to peaceful assembly must record the facts and reasons warranting such curbs and demonstrate that they are the least restrictive measure.

Signed by at least 141 lawyers, including senior advocates Janak Dwarkadas, Navroz Seervai, Gayatri Singh, Mihir Desai, Dinyar Madon and Haresh Jagtiani, along with advocate Yug Mohit Chaudhry, the statement said the prohibitory orders “appear to fail to comply with the requirements under law”, lack accountability and create “difficulties in immediately obtaining legal redress”.

“It ought not to fall on citizens to seek recourse to already overburdened courts,” it said.

Senior advocate Dwarkadas said there was no response to lawyers’ statement urging the police authorities. “We have only made an appeal to the Mumbai CP to withdraw the ban, which appears to be without any justification. It is a clear indication that they don’t want people to assemble and protest, which is nothing but un-democratic. Right to protest is part of our right,” he told The Indian Express.

In a resolution issued Wednesday night, the Bombay Bar Association (BBA) stated that in a constitutional democracy, “the right of citizens to assemble peacefully and to express dissent is an integral facet of the freedoms guaranteed under Article 19 of the Constitution of India” and that “peaceful protest is not merely a constitutional right but an essential feature of democratic governance.”

Expressing “grave concern” over reports of students being subjected to lathi charges and tear gas by the police, it said the use of force against students exercising their constitutional rights is “deeply disturbing”. The BBA said law enforcement authorities are expected to act with restraint and noted that the right to peaceful protest is recognised by the International Covenant of Civil and Political Rights, 1966.

The Association, however, unequivocally condemned reported acts of violence, vandalism and destruction of public or private property by protesters, stating that resort to violence “cannot be justified under any circumstances”. It also deprecated intimidation tactics, including the filing of FIRs.

The BBA said the issues raised by students on the “future of education” are of “immense public importance” and deserve “meaningful engagement rather than confrontation” through “constructive dialogue” between students and the government, urging all concerned to exercise restraint, uphold the rule of law, and refrain from violence in all forms.

Referring to the Delhi High Court issuing notices, BBA President and Senior advocate Nitin Thakker told The Indian Express he did not know what judicial process in Mumbai would follow, but “strongly” condemned the use of force against peaceful protests and demonstrations. He said “citizens have a fundamental right to peaceful protest in a constitutional democracy and there was no justification for police action if protests remained peaceful.”

He referred to news reports that students protesting in Dadar, Mumbai were apprehended and detained, their phone numbers collected, threatened with criminal cases and, in some instances, booked in FIRs. “These are intimidatory tactics and this should not be at all tolerated,” he said, adding that “in a democracy, there is no such place for such kind of behaviour on the part of police when protests are peaceful.”