The Karnataka High Court on Friday refused to pass orders staying the Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s two road shows set to be conducted in Bengaluru this weekend ahead of the State Assembly elections.
In their ruling, a Bench of Justices Krishna S Dixit and Vijaykumar A Patil stated, “We would have declined indulgence on the ground that the required party is not arrayed as a respondent. However, the petitioner correctly said that he does not seek to completely obstruct the events of tomorrow. He requires fair regulation. Because there are elements of public interest, we did not resort to such extreme measures. With this, the petition is laid to rest.”
The Court clarified that in the case of an unfortunate incident, the organizers will be held accountable, regardless of which political party they belong to.
The Court was hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by Advocate Amruthesh NP through Advocate Viswanath Sabarad stressing the harmful impact of preliminary campaigns conducted by political parties contesting the upcoming Karnataka assembly elections.
One of the interim requests made in the plea sought stay on PM Modi’s two road shows scheduled for this weekend in Bengaluru.
The petitioner informed the Court that political figures doing road shows in Bengaluru have been extending their campaign hours from 1 or 2 hours to 4 or 5 hours, thereby causing additional annoyance to the public.
Furthermore, the petition notably stated that PM Modi’s road show was expected to draw a big crowd of 10 lakh party supporters on main commercial highways in Bengaluru.
The petitioner expressed worry that this would create major disturbance to individuals and establishments in the city for which no political party could compensate.
Furthermore, the petitioner drew to the Court’s attention the fact that all political parties were organizing similar road events on May 9, and even after the vote counting on May 13 if they win.
Despite this, he stated that the Bengaluru Police had taken no preventive efforts to mitigate the negative impacts of road shows.
The petition before the High Court sought examination of police records pertaining to permit approval and any related traffic regulations.
In the interest of justice and equity, it also requested a directive prohibiting police from issuing permission for road shows in Bengaluru and Karnataka.
The petition also requested for regulation and restriction of road shows after the vote counting process to avoid any possible conflicts between political parties.
As an interim measure, it asked the Court to stay PM Modi’s road show scheduled for May 6 and 7.
The respondents objected to the plea, claiming that the required parties, namely the acknowledged registered national political party, were not included among the respondents, and so no relief could be awarded.
The Additional Advocate General, appearing for the State, stated that election rallies for the purpose of campaigning have been held for a long time and that no untoward incident has been reported thus far.
In Karnataka, he said that 2,517 rallies have been held since the elections were announced, with not a single unpleasant occurrence reported. According to reports, 371 of them were in Bengaluru.
Counsel for the district election officer submitted that the ability to hold demonstrations during the election process includes components of the right to free expression, assembly, and mobility protected by Article 19 of the Indian Constitution.
He also stated that the application or grant of permission for the road show will be handled on a normative basis, taking into account all relevant factors.
Furthermore, he indicated that if permission is obtained, it will be for 26 kilometres on May 6 and 6.5 kilometres on May 7, keeping in mind the NEET exam on the later day.
The Election Commission of India (ECI) stated that these rallies take place all across the country, particularly during election seasons, and whether or not they are permitted is an issue of law and order that falls under the purview of the state.
The Court asked Bengaluru Commissioner of Police Pratap Reddy, IPS, how the State planned to handle the heightened emotions at the road show. The Commissioner responded with security details such as visitor screening, barricading to prevent stampedes, traffic diversions, and so on.
The Commissioner also stated that social media and radio stations will be used to make public announcements. He added that control rooms will be contacted if they come across any information regarding ambulances getting stranded, so that routes can be cleared.
“Police take every precaution possible. We also have emergency teams in case of any untoward situations, but so far, we have been successful in avoiding,” he remarked.
The Commissioner responded in the affirmative when asked if the Bengaluru police had enough personnel to help carry out the road show safely.
