After the Bombay High Court ruled that the bandh was unconstitutional, NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar called off the statewide public shutdown (bandh) in Maharashtra on Friday, August 24. "In the wake of the Badlapur incident, tomorrow A statewide public shutdown was called for on 24 August 2024. The torture done to those two innocent girls was very disgusting. As a result, strong public sentiments emerged in this regard from all levels of the society. This was an attempt to draw the government's attention to this matter.," Sharad Pawar wrote on X in Marathi.
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Pawar said that the bandh is framed within the context of the Fundamental Rights guaranteed by the Constitution of India, the Honorable Bombay High Court has ruled that the bandh is unconstitutional. "This bandh was within the purview of the Fundamental Rights of the Constitution of India. However Hon. The High Court, Bombay has ruled that the bandh is unconstitutional. Against the said decision Hon. Urgent appeal in Supreme Court is not possible due to time limit. As the Indian Judiciary is a constitutional institution, it is requested to withdraw tomorrow's bandh while respecting the Constitution.," he said.
Mahavikas Aghadi (MVA) parties in Maharashtra had announced a state-wide shutdown in wakeup of the Badlapur incident, in which two 4-year-old girls were sexually assaulted in school by a sweeper, due to which local people in the area, including parents, called for Badlapur bandh. Protest disturbed the daily life of the citizens in the area and also impacted the local train traffic as protestors occupied railway tracks demanding the death penalty for the accused in the case.
The Bombay High Court, on Friday, restrained all political parties and individuals in the state from calling or enforcing the "Maharashtra Bandh" on August 24. The bench led by Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya also issued notices MVA alliance parties, including to the Indian National Congress (INC), Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) - (Sharad Pawar Faction) and Shiv Sena (UBT), who are respondents to the petitions.
The court said that all parties are restrained from proceedings with the bandh until further orders. It asked the authorities and state government to strictly enforce the order. "Until further orders, all parties are restrained from proceedings with the bandh. We direct the State and other authorities to strictly enforce the order of Division Bench of Bombay High Court in the case of BG Deshmukh vs State of Maharashtra," the judges said.
After the High Court order, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said that the order was a "slap" for the Opposition, and the government will implement the directive. Speaking at a gathering in Nashik at the launch of Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin' scheme, Shinde said the Badlapur incident --where two kindergarten girls were allegedly sexually assaulted in the school washroom -- was a "blot on humanity."
"It also impacted the happiness we derived from transferring Rs 1500 in accounts of beneficiary women under the Laadki Bahin scheme. But, the Opposition has been politicising the incident and maligning this scheme," he said.
Shinde said the high court's order was "a slap across the Opposition's face," adding that his government would implement the directive. The accused in the Badlapur case was booked under stringent provisions of law, and the government will seek capital punishment for him," the CM further added.