Supreme Court says applications to hold election awareness yatras should be decided within 3 days

The Supreme Court on Friday ordered that applications seeking permission to conduct processions and meetings for educating public about elections, should be decided by State authorities within a time period of three days. [Aruna Roy and anr vs Union of India]..A bench of Justices BR Gavai and Sandeep Mehta expressed its surprise over permissions for such gatherings being denied invoking Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC)."How can they do this?" Justice Gavai asked.The Court proceeded to seek the response of the Central government in the matter while ordering that such applications for permission be decided within 3 days from the date on which such application is filed."It is stated that petitioner applied for permission to conduct yatras to educate the public about elections. The same are not decided ... we direct that if any application is made by any person to the competent authorities, the same shall be decided within three days of such an application," the Court said in its order today..The bench was hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) petition filed by activists Aruna Roy and Nikhil Dey challenging the blanket imposition of Section 144 CrPC orders amidst the ongoing Lok Sabha elections.The plea filed through advocate Prasanna S said that Magistrates and State governments must be restrained from to indiscriminately passing such blanket orders under Section 144.Such action amounts to an illegal interference with the right to vote as it thwarts and obstruct public participation in the democratic process, the petitioners argued."The repeated imposition of sec. 144 prohibitory order has allowed the State to impose restrictions of freedoms under Article 19 as the rule ... it is manifestly unconstitutional for being demonstrably disproportionate. The authorities cannot act merely on the conjecture that there will be a public order issue merely on the grounds of elections having been announced. These orders are neither lawful, nor least restrictive, nor are demonstrably necessary in a democratic society," the plea said. .Advocate Prashant Bhushan appeared for the petitioners..Notably, Former Chief Justice of India (CJI) Uday Umesh Lalit had last year expressed his shock and reservations about the mechanical issuance of prohibitory orders under Section 144 Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) in Delhi.The former CJI had said that the use of the provision in a cavalier manner, otherwise meant for emergency situations, was not fit for a democracy governed by the rule of law.