Protect health of protesters: Bombay HC to Maharashtra govt on Maratha quota agitation

The Bombay High Court requested the Maharashtra government to make sure that law and order was maintained and that the health of the  protesters was not jeopardised amid activist Manoj Jarange's hunger fast for Maratha minority rights.

A division bench of Chief Justice D K Upadhyaya and Justice Arun Pednekar was hearing a public interest litigation filed by one Nilesh Shinde regarding the ongoing protests by members of the Maratha community. The aspirations of people in any democratic polity get expressed in various forms, however, such forms cannot be permitted to assume character of the same being a cause of any kind of disturbance in the society, the HC said.

While protecting the right of every individual or group of persons to express their aspirations, it is also the duty of the state to maintain law and order and peace and tranquility in society at any cost, it said. No protest or agitation being carried out for whatever reason can be permitted to assume the character of causing any law and order situation, the court said. Every individual or group of persons has the fundamental right to protest, but it must be through peaceful means, the bench further said.

When speaking on behalf of the state, Advocate General Birendra Saraf told the court that the government had taken action on the matter and encouraged Jarange to cease his fast. The judge's panel approved his explanation and ordered the government to take all necessary legal action to uphold law and order and safeguard the protesters' health.

On September 1, police lathicharged a crowd in the Latur district's Antarwali Sarati village, where Jarange is on a hunger strike. This sparked outrage across the state.