The Delhi High Court on Thursday refused to pass any immediate direction on a plea by Kshatriya Karni Sena seeking permission to hold a demonstration against reservation and the University Grants Commission (UGC) regulations at Jantar Mantar on September 6.
Justice Amit Mahajan remarked that such a permission could not be granted by the Court without hearing the Delhi Police, which had rejected Karni Sena's request.
The Court also remarked that the organisation may consider changing the date of the protest from September 6 to some other date.
"Change the date of the protest. What is so sacrosanct about the date? If the police is not agreeing on a particular date. You do it on another day. I can’t permit you without hearing them (police)," the Court remarked.
The petitioner told the Court that they have already changed the date of the demonstration once and that it was the second time this was being done.
It was stated that this was a padyatra (walk) which would culminate at Jantar Mantar.
However, the Court said that it will hear the matter after considering the response of the Delhi Police.
Therefore, the Court listed the case for further consideration on September 9.
The plea was filed by Dr Raj Shekhawat, head of the Kshatriya Karni Sena, challenging the Delhi Police decision to deny permission to the group to hold a peaceful demonstration at Jantar Mantar on September 6.
It was stated that the organisation was planning to protest against reservation policies and the University Grants Commission regulations.
In his plea, Shekhawat stated that he had sought permission through a written application dated August 27, undertaking to comply with all lawful directions and reasonable conditions. However, police authorities rejected the request on August 28, citing ongoing preparations for the BRICS Summit.
Shekhawat argued that the rejection was legally unsustainable, pointing out that the BRICS Summit is scheduled for September 12-13 at Bharat Mandapam, six days after the proposed demonstration, and that Jantar Mantar and Bharat Mandapam are geographically distinct locations.
The petitioner also offered an express undertaking that no procession would be taken out from Jantar Mantar or moved towards Bharat Mandapam or any BRICS-related security route.
Advocates Himanshu Sharma, Abhishek Tyagi and Roshan Dhanai appeared for the petitioner.