In the order, the bench stated “let the application already given by the Petitioner on November 10, 2023 for holding the Mahapanchayat on December 4, 2023 be treated as a representation for holding the Mahapanchayat on December 18, 2023, and the Respondent No.3/MCD and the Police Authorities are directed to consider the feasibility for holding the Mahapanchayat at Ramlila Ground, Delhi on December 18, 2023.” (Para 5)

The said order was issued by the court while dealing with a plea moved by the aforementioned organisation seeking direction on the authorities to act upon its request and grant NOC to organise the public gathering at Ramlila Ground. As per a report in LiveLaw, the said organisation was founded by Advocate Mehmood Pracha and claims to work for creating awareness among the masses, especially the depressed classes, about their constitutional rights. It was the organisation’s case in the petition that it sought to initiate a series of events, starting from the event, for strengthening of all weaker sections, including Muslim and other minority communities like SC, ST, OBC and that voices of “all the oppressed people” would be raised in the meeting.

The order also provided that while the permission by the organisation was initially sought for holding the public meeting on December 4, the MCD provided that the Ramlila Ground was available for the said date but the same can only be allotted subject to NOC from Delhi Police. In its counter affidavit, the Delhi Police stated that NOC on the said date had already been given to Maha Tyagi Seva Sansthan for organising ‘Mahayagya for Vishwa Jan Kalyan’ at Ramlila Ground from December 3 to December 15, and therefore, Ramlila Ground was not available for December 4.

The court, in its order, said that it was not going into the controversy as to whether the Maha Tyagi Seva Sansthan should have first approached the MCD and then the Police Authorities or as to whether the petitioner organisation should have first approached the Police Authorities and then the MCD. Rather, the court urged the authorities to provide such a date where no function is scheduled at the ground so that the Mahapanchayat can be organised.

“This Court is not going into the controversy as to whether the Maha Tyagi Seva Sansthan should have first approached the MCD and then the Police Authorities or as to whether the Petitioner herein should have first approached the Police Authorities and then the MCD. In order to cut short the controversy, this Court had requested the learned Counsel for the MCD and the Police Authorities to give those dates on which no function is scheduled to be organised at Ramlila Ground, Delhi,” the court stated in its order (Para 3)

The counsel appearing for the organisation submitted that out of the dates given by the MCD and the Police Authorities, December 18 was the most convenient for holding the Mahapanchayat. The matter will now be heard on November 28.

The order of the High Court can be read here:

Prior denial of holding the Mahapanchayat by the Court

The aforementioned order of the High Court had come after the same bench had, on October 25, refused to grant permission to the organisation to hold a similar public meeting at the Ramlila Ground on October 29. Justice Subramonium Prasad upheld the Delhi Police’s decision which had withdrawn the permission granted to the organisation for holding the meeting, observing that it cannot be held to be arbitrary. Notably, it was the police’s stand that the proposed event was “communal”.

The court refused to grant permission for October 29 noting that during that time, several festivals will be celebrated. Besides, the court also said that the tenure of the posters of the organisation show that the event can have communal overtones and might increase communal tension in the Old Delhi area which has already witnessed communal tensions in the past.

Hence, the court observed that the “apprehension of the SHO (Station House Officer) of the concerned area” cannot be washed away by constitutional courts. It further said that though there is freedom to raise voice but the possibility of communal tension cannot be ignored.

While rejecting the petition, the court however said that it is always open to the authorities, after the festive season is over, to consider afresh the organisation’s plea for permission to hold the event. Justice Prasad ruled that the organisation’s fresh plea for permission will be considered by the authorities on its own merits, subject to the organisation providing a list of speakers and an undertaking that the meeting will not cause any communal tension.

 Related:

“Can have communal overtones’: Delhi High Court turns down permission for “Muslim Mahapanchayat” on Oct 29

Muslim Mahapanchayat in Uttarakhand to raise concerns over targeting of community

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Growing calls for social and economic boycott of Muslims surfacing on social media, plea in the Supreme Court 

The post Delhi HC directs Delhi police, MCD to consider feasibility of organising Muslim Mahapanchayat at the Ramlila Ground on December 18 appeared first on SabrangIndia.

The petitioners were Mission Save Constitution, an organisation which was founded by Advocate Mehmood Pracha. It claims to work for creating awareness among the masses, especially the depressed classes, about their constitutional rights. Justice Subramonium Prasad ruled that the period of end of Shraadh till Diwali is extremely auspicious for people belonging to the Hindu Community and that the posters of the organisation show that the event can have communal and religious overtones.

The court refused to grant permission for October 29 noting that during that time, several festivals will be celebrated. Besides, the court also said that the tenure of the posters of the organisation show that the event can have communal overtones and might increase communal tension in the Old Delhi area which has already witnessed communal tensions in the past.

Hence, the court observed that the “apprehension of the SHO of the concerned area” cannot be washed away by constitutional courts. It further said that though there is freedom to raise voice but the possibility of communal tension cannot be ignored.

While rejecting the petition,  the court however said that it is always open to the authorities, after the festive season is over, to consider afresh the organization’s plea for permission to hold the event. Justice Prasad ruled that the organisation’s fresh plea for permission will be considered by the authorities on its own merits, subject to the organisation providing a list of speakers and an undertaking that the meeting will not cause any communal tension.

The proposed event was scheduled for October 29. It was the organisation’s case in the petition that it sought to initiate a series of events, starting from the event, for strengthening of all weaker sections, including Muslim and other minority communities like SC, ST, OBC and that voices of “all the oppressed people” would be raised in the meeting.

The organisation had, therefore, challenged the Delhi Police’s decision to revoke the permission which was earlier granted. This was after the organisation refused to accept Police’s suggestion to change the nature of the call raise for the meeting. The petitioner organisation contended that the police’s letter revoking the permission suffered from “serious legal and constitutional infirmities” and was thus liable to be set aside.

“That the Muslim community is one of the weaker sections of the society, and is being attempted to be used as a fulcrum of polarising the Indian Polity, similar to the other weaker sections of the society such as the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Other Backward Classes, and other religious minorities,” the plea read. Counsel for the petitioner were R.H.A. Sikander,  Jatin Bhatt, Sanawar, and Harshit Gahlot. Apoorv Kurup, CGSC with Mr. Akhil Hasija appeared for respondents 1, Satyakam, ASC for GNCTD and Ms. Khushboo Nahar, ASC for the MCD, Kunal, for respondent 3.

Related:

Muslim Mahapanchayat in Uttarakhand to raise concerns over targeting of community

Haryana’s farmers’ Mahapanchayat: Fostering unity across communities, vowing for communal harmony

Growing calls for social and economic boycott of Muslims surfacing on social media, plea in the Supreme Court

The post “Can have communal overtones’: Delhi High Court turns down permission for “Muslim Mahapanchayat” on Oct 29 appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Waseem Ahmed, media in-charge of Muslim Seva Sangathan told Hindustan Times, “A meeting of Muslim religious leaders was chaired by Dehradun’s Shehar Qazi Mohammad Ahmad Qasmi on Saturday to discuss the current atmosphere of hatred against Muslims across Uttarakhand. A mahapanchayat of Muslim religious leaders will be held on June 18. People from across the state, including Dehradun, Haridwar, Udham Singh Nagar, and Haldwani will participate”.

Mohammad Ahmad Qasmi, Dehradun’s Shehar Qazi, while speaking to HT said: “In the hills, innocent Muslims are being forced out. Those who have committed the crime should be punished. The whole community should not be targeted and rendered unemployed because of one person.”

The announcement of this Muslim mahapanchayat did not go down well with the right wing. Swami Darshan Bharti, founder of Devbhoomi Raksha Abhiyan and one who made objectionable statements against Muslims in Uttarakhand. He had said, “Keep an eye on love Jihadis who are wolves in the form of plumbers, electricians, mechanics, and masons around you. Beware and identify these wolves.”

“You need to protect the dignity of your sisters,” he said and followed this with raising slogans of “Jai Shree Ram”. Addressing a crowd of women, he said that women should beware of these “Love jihadi wolves” and that they should not show any generosity towards them (Muslims)

“Keep an eye on love Jihadis who are wolves in the form of plumbers, electricians, mechanics, and masons around you. Beware and identity these wolves.”

This speech(111K views) by Darshan Bharti was uploaded on FB on May 24 and attacks on Muslims in Uttrakhand started on May 26. pic.twitter.com/yu2FrxybKB

— Vipul Kumar (@vipulizm) June 11, 2023

Bharti said, in response to the Muslim Mahapanchayat, “We will not allow this (mahapanchayat by Muslims) to happen even if we have to take a big step,” reported HT.

Dehradun additional district magistrate (ADM) Shiv Kumar Baranwal said that they have not received any request for permission for Mahapanchayat and if sought, they will take appropriate action.

A Mahapanchayat is set to be held on June 15 by the right wing groups as well to further target the Muslim community.

Background

It can be said that an incident of the abduction of a Hindu girl was merely used as a pretext to cause this mass exodus by creating an atmosphere of terror lined with threats. As class nine student was allegedly abducted by two men, Ubed Khan (24) and Jitendra Kumar Saini (23) who were arrested on May 27. On May 29, a procession was carried out by right wing groups as also businessmen of the area last week and shouted slogans against targeting the Muslim community while threatening them to vacate their shops. Fearing violence, 42 shopkeepers and vendors like street hawkers, vegetable vendors, bicycle repair persons and other such small businesses reportedly fled the area.

The protesting group also sent a memorandum to the Governor through SDM Devanand Sharma demanding the immediate removal of businessmen from a particular (read Muslim) community, with a criminal mindset.

The protest march in Purola on May 29 had turned violent whereby Muslim shops were attacked and over 900 people had taken part in this mob. The memorandum sent by the protestors said, “In the garb of doing business in the town, some people from a particular community have been indulging in immoral activities… thereby, polluting the atmosphere,” as reported by HT.

A detailed timeline of events in Uttarkashi can be read here.

Related:

The biggest exodus of the decade: Muslims leave Uttarkashi amidst threats, hate speech

Uttarkashi: Cross marks, “leave” threats on Muslim shops, hatred spreads to other towns: Uttarakhand

Uttarkashi: Muslims flee homes as right wing threatens the community over abduction of young girl

Radha Semwal Dhoni: Emerging far right menace in Uttarakhand

Repeat offender Radha Semwal snatches Aadhar cards of Muslim traders, threatens them

The post Muslim Mahapanchayat in Uttarakhand to raise concerns over targeting of community appeared first on SabrangIndia.