The high court on Friday asked the schoolteachers staging an indefinite sit-in outside Bikash Bhavan in Salt Lake to shift their protest site to the adjacent Central Park so office-goers and daily commuters are not inconvenienced by the road blockade.
The designated site is about 200m from Bikash Bhavan.
Delivering the order, Justice Tirthankar Ghosh said 200 protesters will be allowed to assemble at a time. He asked police not to take any coercive steps against the protesting teachers until a court order.
“The agitators of ‘Jogya Sikkhok-Sikkhika Adhikar Mancha (2016 SLST)’, (a platform representing the teachers), if they intend to continue their agitation/protest, they would continue the same at the Central Park, tending towards the opposite side of Bikash Bhavan. It is further directed that on a rotational basis, 200 members at a time would be present at the place of agitation,” the written order said.
It said the deputy commissioner of police, detective department, Bidhannagar, had approached the court alleging that the sit-in led to “certain inconveniences”.
If any outsider goes to the protest site to sympathise with the teachers, this should be communicated to the police at the site, the order said. It should be mutually decided by the police and the teachers if such individuals will be allowed at the site, it said.
The order was based on the submission made by the state government’s counsel Kalyan Bandyopadhyay, who alleged that several politicians were visiting the spot and inciting the protesters.
It has directed the teachers’ platform to “furnish the names of 10 members to the assistant commissioner of police, North, Bidhannagar Police Commissionerate in the course of the day for the purpose of regular communication and correspondence”.
The order said: “In view of the issues relating to protest, the State is directed to treat the petitioners/agitators with a human face, and to that extent, if it is possible, the concerned administration would see to it that a temporary structure is made available to the agitating members so that the scorching heat does not affect the health of the individuals concerned. The municipality would arrange for drinking water facilities and bio-toilets.”
The judge struck down the argument of protesting teacher Sangita Saha, who said the sit-in was not inconveniencing anyone.
“The place where you are sitting is causing inconvenience to the general public. Who allotted you the place outside Bikash Bhavan?... I am concerned with the inconvenience that common people and office-goers are facing. You have been staging your sit-in for the past 16-17 days, keep doing that, but shift... to the other side, towards Central Park,” the judge said.
The court directed the police to “go slow” on the 15 protesters against whom FIRs have been drawn up following the violence on May 15 when the teachers stormed Bikash Bhavan.
The order asked the teachers to cooperate if summoned. “However, the police authorities will not take any coercive steps against any accused... till further orders of this court,” the order said.