HC dismisses PIL plea seeking ban on BJP’s public event, rally

The Karnataka High Court on Wednesday dismissed a PIL petition, which had sought a direction to the State government not to permit the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its youth wing to hold either a public meeting or a bike rally in Mangaluru on September 7. A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Subhro Kamal Mukherjee and Justice P.S. Dinesh Kumar described as “devoid of merit” the PIL, filed by Suhail Khan and five others, who are residents of different taluks in Dakshina Kannada (DK) district. It was claimed by the petitioners’ counsel that the State should not permit any public event or rally as certain parts of Dakshina Kannada district have witnessed communal riots in the past three months and the situation was only gradually returning to normal. The petitioner sought a ban on holding a public event or rally/procession by the BJP or its youth wing. However, the Bench reacted orally stating that the law and order is the responsibility of the State and the court cannot interfere in this regard.