HC allows 2 rallies in Howrah, with a rider: 'Must be peaceful'

KOLKATA: Calcutta HC Friday granted permission for two Ram Navami rallies, one by VHP and the other by Anjani Putra Sena , in Howrah. HC directed that rallies must be entirely peaceful, and prohibited the participants from carrying weapons, including lathis. However, they were allowed to carry a 'gada' (mace) made of plastic. HC also directed the participants to submit copies of their Aadhaar and PAN cards to the DCP,

Howrah police commissionerate. Justice Tirthankar Ghosh allowed Anjani Putra Sena to take out its procession from Narasimha Temple to Howrah Maidan via GT Road in the morning, but capped the number of participants at 500. VHP was permitted to hold its Ram Navami rally in the afternoon (3pm-6pm) from BE College Gate 1 to Ramkrishnapur Ghat via Mallik Phatak.

Anjani Putra Sena moved HC after police proposed a change in their procession route, which they had been following for a long time. The state argued that organisers had flouted court directives in the past by increasing number of participants and carrying swords, and also damaged public property in 2022, 2023 and 2024.

Petitioner's counsel Subir Sanyal submitted that he was questioning the manner in which police were exercising their power. Sanyal drew HC's attention to denial of permission by police, calling parts of the rally route "communally sensitive". Justice Ghosh held that police, in the past, were unable to control the situation, and also held organisers responsible for being unable to control the rally participants. "In earlier cases, I allowed rallies on routes followed for years," he observed.