In a huge relief to former Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, the Bombay High Court on Friday granted permission to his faction to hold annual Dasara rally at Shivaji Park in Dadar on October 5, thereby allowing him to continue the tradition of Shiv Sena holding public gathering at the venue.
A Division Bench of Justices R.D. Dhanuka and Kamal Khata quashed the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation's (BMC) order, refusing the Thackerays to hold the melawa (fair). The court granted permission to hold the rally from October 2 to October 6.
After hearing the matter for almost the whole day, the court said, "In our view, the BMC's action is in clear violation of law and bonafide. In this case, the BMC has misused power by refusing to grant permission."
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The court also rejected the application of Sada Sarvankar of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s camp to intervene in the matter.
The court was hearing a petition filed by the political party and its secretary Anil Desai through advocate Joel Carlos stating, "Every year since 1966 when Shiv Sena was founded, on the festival of Dasara, the party conducted Dasara melawa there and the party has always got permission to hold their rally at Shivaji Park. The party workers and leaders from across the State and country arrive at the park without any announcement or invitation."
As per the Maharashtra Regional Town Planning Act, from the year 2016, the Commissioner of BMC has been granting permission to Thackeray-led Shiv Sena to hold its rally at Shivaji Park. "A letter was sent to the BMC authorities on August 26, 2022, applying for permission however more than 20 days have elapsed and there has been no response," hence the petition.
Shiv Sena’s secretary Vinayak Raut welcomed the decision and said, “Our faith in the judiciary stands vindicated. For the last many years, Dussehra rally has been taking place at Shivtirtha (Shivaji Park), but this time attempt was made through the Shinde faction and BJP to create obstacles. Thankfully, the court rejected it.”
