VIJAYAWADA: The Andhra Pradesh government on Tuesday filed a petition in the Supreme Court, challenging the High Court’s decision to temporarily suspend the government order, restricting public meetings on national and State highways as well as municipal and panchayat roads, till January 23.The State government had issued GO No.1 after 11 people lost their lives in two stampedes during events addressed by TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu at Kandukur in Nellore district and Guntur city.
It may be recalled that CPI State secretary K Ramakrishna had challenged GO 1 in the High Court stating that it encroached on the right to people’s freedom of expression. Even as further hearing in the case was adjourned to January 20, the State government knocked on the doors of the apex court. When the CPI leader’s petition came for hearing before the vacation bench of the High Court, the petitioner’s counsel, Aswini Kumar said the GO made it mandatory for any public meeting to be conducted after permission had been sought as per Section 30 of the Police Act.
Arguing that the government order was against the rules of the Police Act, Kumar stated that though the word ‘ban’ was not mentioned in the GO, the government was trying to impose curbs indirectly.
Objecting to a vacation bench hearing the PIL, advocate general S Sriram said the government did not have any information about the filing of the plea. Sriram asserted that the GO was issued to prevent recurrence of such incidents and not to ban public meetings.