Govt to move SC over ban on way side meetings: CM

Monday, March 05, 2012: Chief Minister Oommen Chandy on Monday informed the Kerala Assembly that the state government has decided to approach the Supreme Court challenging the Kerala High Court directive imposing a ban on way side meetings.
The High Court on June 24th, 2010, banned holding of public meetings in roadsides. The High Court directed the Revenue; Police and Public administration departments to desist from providing approval to such meetings and reminded the police that avoidance of such illegal meetings comes under their duty.
The court had earlier imposed a restriction on public rallies and meetings by political parties and different organizations in the State. According to the direction those conducting rallies and meetings should give prior information about the number of participants and those exceeding this should be blocked.
The Bench comprising Justice C.N. Ramachandran Nair and Justice P.S. Gopinathan directed the police, Public Works, Local Self-Government and Revenue Departments not to grant permission for holding public meetings by the roadside. The court directed the police to remove the stage and other paraphernalia if the roadside held such a meeting.
The court made it clear that it had issued this prohibitory order in order to ensure free flow of traffic on public roads and also for the safety of the travelling public. It held that holding of public meetings by the roadside would create road blocks. Besides, holding such a meeting ran a risk due to the possibility of rashly driven vehicles ploughing through the assembled crowd and consequent loss of life could not be ruled out.
The court suggested that the government could permit public meetings on holidays on the playground of schools or other educational institutions under its control or on open grounds located away from public roads. It directed the Chief Secretary to communicate the order to all departments, including all local bodies and the police.