Chief Justice Amreshwar Pratap Sahi and Justice Subramonium Prasad of the Madras High Court on Thursday refused to accept a request made by an advocate for an urgent hearing on a case he wanted to file against proposed demonstrations by various Muslim organisations against the recent Supreme Court verdict in the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid land dispute case.
When the advocate urged the first Division Bench to grant him permission for moving a lunch motion, the Chief Justice said it was for the police, and not the court, to maintain law and order.
Then, Government Pleader V. Jayaprakash Narayanan informed the Bench that the police had not granted permission for any such protest so far.
According to the advocate, news that the Popular Front of India, the Tamil Nadu Towheed Jamath and the Tamil Nadu Muslim Munnetra Kazhagam had called for demonstrations in Chennai and other districts across the State on Friday, Monday and Tuesday, respectively, was being circulated widely on social media and through other channels.
Claiming that people could not be allowed to protest against court verdicts and thereby sully the image of the judiciary, the lawyer insisted that he be granted permission to move an urgent public interest litigation (PIL) petition aimed at preventing those organisations from going ahead with their protests.
He was of the view that no such protest should be allowed in the State, considering the sensitiveness of the issue.
