Kolkata: City Of Joy can’t be city of demonstrations – Times of India

KOLKATA: Asking whether they want to turn the City of Joy into a City of Demonstrations, Calcutta High Court on Wednesday asked petitioners, who wanted to protest over the teacher recruitment issue, to join other rallyists but turned down their plea to be allotted a different venue.
Justice Shampa Sarkar said, “This court is of the view that on similar issues, several demonstrations are going on at different places in Kolkata. The petitioners are entitled to join any of the demonstrations organized by similarly aggrieved persons, like the petitioners, but no separate place can be allotted to the petitioners for further demonstration. ”
After the petitioners said they would like join the group, which was already protesting at Shahid Matangini Padodesh, the high court allowed the protests, but made it clear that loudspeakers would not be allowed and that the demonstration should be peaceful and without any stick, arms or weapon. The HC said, “No hateful, provocative and abusive speeches shall be made” and “public property should not be damaged or destroyed. ”
But most importantly, Justice Sarkar said in her order, “The sitting demonstration should be held between 11am and 4pm. ” She added, “The demonstration should be organized in such a way that traffic flow and passage of pedestrians are not affected. ”
Advocate Raja Saha argued for the state that “indefinite sit-in-demonstrations for unending periods created alot of law-and-order problems”, making deployment of cops next to impossible. But the HC said it would not limit the period of the demonstrations as the protesters were joining an on-going agitation. Justice Sarkar said police could take a decision on it, and if the matter were to be challenged in court, the court would take a decision on it at a later stage.
Atotal of 124 petitioners, represented by lawyer Firdosh Shamim, had moved before the HC against the state, Kolkata and Bidhannagar Police, alleging their pleas to hold a protest meeting were being turned down. They had suggested four venues to stage the agitation—Metro Channel, Rani Rashmoni Padodesh, Press Club and Sahid Matangini Padodesh.