The Bombay High Court on Monday sought the Maharashtra government's response to a plea challenging police detentions during recent demonstrations against Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar [Sagar Devre v. State of Maharashtra & Ors.].However, the division bench of Chief Justice Mahesh Chandra Tripathi and Justice Advait M Sethna also observed that while citizens have the right to agitate, such protests must be peaceful.The Court was hearing the PIL by a Mumbai based lawyer which alleged police excesses during demonstrations in Mumbai on October 10 and 11.The petition was filed seeking a direction to declare the indiscriminate detention of peaceful demonstrators, pedestrians and individuals as unconstitutional. It also called for an independent inquiry into police excesses, preservation of all electronic records and formulation of standard operating procedures for protest policing..The protests occurred last week at Mumbai's August Kranti Maidan and Shivaji Park..Senior Advocates Gayatri Singh and Mihir Desai, appearing for the petitioner and other protesters, submitted that citizens and bystanders were illegally detained without charges and held at police stations all day before release..Advocate General Milind Sathe submitted that no unlawful detentions occurred. He stated that police requested organisers to move to Azad Maidan since August Kranti Maidan is a heritage site. .When protesters blocked a busy junction, police cleared the area, recorded their details at the station, and released them.Lawyers representing local residents also sought intervention in the petition claiming they were severely inconvenienced by the unauthorised rallies..“Everybody has a right to agitate, but it has to be peaceful agitation. Bring the facts on record. With the affidavits cited before us, we will also examine if, under the guise of peaceful demonstrations, unwanted elements were added,” the Court said.The Bench added that the credentials of individuals must be scrutinised to ensure they are peace-loving citizens without criminal antecedents.The Court posted the petition for hearing on November 19.
