A division benchof Calcutta High Court on Tuesday issued a stay onan order passed by JusticeRajasekhar Mantha of the court allowing a rally toprotest alleged irregularities in Group D recruitmentsin schools to pass through Harish Mukherjee Road.
Around 600 protesters, who claim corruption in recruitments perpetrated by the school service commission deprived them of Group D jobs in government-aided schools, had approached police seeking permission to organise a march from Sahid Minar to Kalighat police station, via Harish Mukherjee Road.
The police denied permission citing the sensitivity of the route. The house of Trinamul Congress national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee, who is also chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s nephew, is on Harish Mukherjee Road.
After being denied permission, the rally organisers moved the high court.
On Monday, Justice Mantha granted the organisers the permission to go ahead with the rally through the proposed route with the condition that marchers should maintain peace and not indulge in any kind of speech that could instigate violence.
Justice Mantha also ordered that the march should proceed in a way that 80 per cent of the thoroughfare was left free for traffic. The state government on Tuesday moved an appeal before a division bench of the court, headed by Justice I.P. Mukerji, against Justice Mantha’s order. The bench stayed Justice Mantha’s order and ruled that the rally would have to follow the route prescribed by the police. The bench also ordered the organisers to end the rally by 4.30pm.
Senior officers of Kolkata police said the organisers had been allowed to march from Sahid Minar to Kalighat police station via Ashutosh Mukherjee Road and SP Mukherjee Road, instead of Harish Mukherjee Road. Kolkata police have introduced an online form that has to be mandatorily filled in by organisers for getting permission for a rally. The organisers have to mention the proposed route and the expected turnout in the form.
It is up to the police to allow or reject an application for permission.
