The Bombay High Court has quashed a year-long banishment order against a local political leader, ruling that participating in peaceful protests and demonstrating against the government do not constitute grounds for externment.
In a single-bench ruling, Justice Madhav Jamdar emphasized that citizens cannot be treated as slaves of the state. The court declared that the banishment order directly infringed upon the petitioner’s fundamental rights, including freedom of speech and expression, as well as the right to live with dignity. Justice Jamdar questioned the practice of issuing externment orders over slogan-shouting, stating that citizens have a constitutional right to protest and voice opposition to government decisions.
The legal challenge was brought by Saeed Ahmad Abdul Wahid Chaudhary, who serves as the general secretary of the Social Democratic Party of India. Chaudhary petitioned the High Court after local authorities issued a year-long externment order against him. The order followed several police complaints filed against Chaudhary for organizing demonstrations and raising slogans against the federal government, the Bharatiya Janata Party, and Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
Lack of Harm to Public Order
Local police defended the externment order by claiming that Chaudhary and his political associates had staged their demonstrations without obtaining prior official permission. However, the High Court rejected this justification, noting that there was no evidence on record to show that the protests had caused any public harm or disruption.
The court ruled that unauthorized demonstrations, on their own, are insufficient to meet the legal criteria required for banishment under the Maharashtra Police Act. Justice Jamdar observed that slapping criminal cases on individuals who question or protest government actions essentially treats dissenting citizens as subjects without rights.
Humorous Remarks on State Politics
While delivering the ruling, Justice Jamdar also made lighthearted comments regarding the current political environment in Maharashtra. Observing the frequent shifting of alliances among local politicians, the judge humorously suggested that Chaudhary might want to consider changing his political party to resolve his legal troubles.
Referring to the state’s political climate as a landscape of ongoing horse-trading, Justice Jamdar quipped that switching sides could act as a washing machine to clear the outstanding criminal complaints registered against the politician.
