Mumbai: The Bombay High Court on Thursday criticised the demonstration that took place on the court premises shortly before the proceedings on the petitions filed by three plastic manufacturers association challenging the ban began on Wednesday. The final order on the ban will be passed on Friday.
A Division Bench of Justices A.S. Oka and P.N. Deshmukh was scheduled to hear the petitions challenging the ban on manufacturing and sales of plastic, filed by the three associations in the afternoon session. However, at 12.45 p.m., nearly 150 people, supporting the petitioners, gathered in the court compound, near courtroom no. 13, which led to chaos.
Justice Oka said, “A large crowd was seen outside the courtroom nearly two hours before the scheduled hearing. It is disappointing to know that people think they can pressure the court’s judgement by the show of people. The crowd made it difficult for even the counsels representing the petitioners to enter the courtroom. The crowd was massive, because of which the pressure on the police was increased. It was not necessary for the association members to turn up in such large numbers to extend their support to the petitioners.”
Justice Oka also said if somebody is under the impression that such mob demonstrations can pressure the court, they are wrong, and if, in future, any such incident is repeated, the case will be thrown out.
“It is the duty of the counsels to take care of their clients’ activities and should make sure they don’t fall for such practices. Maintaining the dignity of the court is not only the job of a judge or court staff, but also the counsels’ as their loyalty lies towards the court before their clients,” he said.
Justice Oka said although the mob did not raise slogans, a court of law is not a place to protest. “The apex court and other courts don’t have entry restrictions and adapting to such methods is taking undue advantage of that. A member of the bar is the member of the court and that is why they must take the initiative to prevent such incidents.”
Ravi Jashnani, president, Maharashtra Plastic Manufacturers’ Association and one of the petitioners, said he does not know who the people were in the court. “Our association is not related to any such demonstration that is being talked about. Only the representatives from the association were present in the court on Wednesday,” he said.
On Thursday, the security outside courtroom 13 was increased and people who were not directly related to the case were not allowed, once the sitting was full.
