Maharashtra Bandh: The Bombay High Court ends the Maharashtra bandh and tells the state government and political parties what to do.
The bandh call made by any political party or person has been put on hold by the Bombay High Court. The court also told the state government to do everything it could to end the shutdown. The court will soon make a thorough decision on the petitions that were sent in to challenge the bandh call.
Thane. The Maharashtra bandh call made by political groups or any person on Friday was stayed by the Bombay High Court. Chief Justice D. K. Upadhyay and Justice Amit Borkar led a split bench that told the Maharashtra government to do everything it could to end the bandh.
The Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) union, which is against the government, wants the whole state to shut down on August 24 to protest the alleged sexual assault of two kindergarten girls at a school in Badlapur in Thane district. The high court said it would soon make a firm decision on the two petitions that were brought to question the bandh call.
“We are restraining any political party and/or any person from calling for a bandh,” the judge said. The state government will do everything that needs to be done.The court was told by State Advocate General Birendra Saraf that the call for a general strike was against the law. “The state government will take all steps to ensure that there is no damage to human life or property,” he added. The government will do what it needs to do, but everyone has basic duties they should uphold.
As a safety measure, the judge asked Saraf what the government had done and if anyone had been arrested. A warning has been sent to some people, but Saraf said that no one has been arrested yet. In a previous plea against the bandh call, lawyers Subhash Jha and Sadavarte used a Kerala High Court decision to ask for a stay on it.
In a similar decision, the Kerala High Court said that no political party can call for a state-wide bandh and that the high court has the power to step in and stop this. The petitions also used the Maratha reservation movement as an example. During that time, a lot of public property was damaged. We expect the court’s full order to arrive by Friday evening.
