BJP gets Telangana HC nod to organise public meeting in Warangal today
HYDERABAD: Decks have been cleared for the BJP’s mega public meeting at Warangal on Saturday with the Telangana High Court ordering the Warangal Police Commissioner to issue the permit.
Justice T Vinod Kumar, on Friday, instructed the petitioner to speak to the Commissioner of Police, Warangal and provide information regarding the location and time of the meeting, the list of attendees as well as the parking spaces that would be available.
While suspending the prohibitory orders issued by CP Warangal and the rejection orders issued by the DCP, Warangal, the court said that the CP is responsible for making sure that there are no obstacles for ambulances in and around the meeting venue.
The court said: “Prima facie, it appears that the CP Warangal, who is under the control of the DGP, has been adopting delay tactics in dealing with the application of the petitioner, seeking permission for the meeting on different times and dates.”
“This court also takes note of the different meetings which were held in recent times, wherein the Head of State and also a Union Minister addressed the audience,” the court added.
HC raps govt for not using authority under Police Act
Justice Vinod Kumar also took up the issue with the government for its lack of action in formulating guidelines or in using the authority granted by the Hyderabad City Police Act. For example, prohibitory orders issued by the Warangal CP cannot last longer than a week without the government’s approval, and if they do, they must then be published in the gazette for the general public’s information.
This was not done in the current case. Senior counsel J Prabhakar, who appeared on behalf of petitioner Dugyala Pradeep Kumar, General Secretary, Telangana unit of BJP, claimed that the decision of Warangal Police to deny permission for the meeting on Saturday was regrettable and amounted to a violation of Article 19(1) of the Constitution because it curtailed the freedom of the opposition political parties to express their opinions in public.
The Principal of the University of Arts and Science College, Subedari, Hanamkonda does not have the authority to grant permission for the meeting, and the permission that was previously granted was erroneous, according to Advocate General (AG) BS Prasad.
The AG also argued that having the meeting would interfere with an examination scheduled for the same day of the meeting. The court instructed authorities to allow the petitioners to convene the public meeting after carefully considering both sides’ arguments.
Nadda to address
BJP national president JP Nadda will address the public meeting to be organised by the BJP on Saturday. The meeting coincides with the end of the third phase of the party’s State president Bandi Sanjay Kumar’s Praja Sangrama Yatra