If solidarity can be shown towards Tamils in Sri Lanka, it can be expressed towards Hindus in Bangladesh as well, says Madras High Court

Madras High Court grants permission for Hindu Munnani to hold State-wide demonstrations in Tamil Nadu.

When people can hold demonstrations in Tamil Nadu expressing solidarity with the Tamils in Sri Lanka, they can also hold demonstrations with respect to the attack on Hindus in Bangladesh, the Madras High Court said on Wednesday and granted permission for State-wide demonstrations by Hindu Munnani.

Disposing of a writ petition filed by one of the Hindu Munnani office-bearers, Justice G. Jayachandran directed the State police to grant permission to the petitioner organisation for conducting demonstrations in a peaceful manner, and without disturbing free flow of road traffic, between 3 p.m. and 4 p.m. on August 27.

Senior counsel G. Karthikeyan, representing the petitioner organisation, told the court that so many individual, organisations and political parties in the country raised voice for the victims in Gaza but there were hardly any voices heard in support of the minorities being subjected to violence in Bangladesh.

Hence, Hindu Munnani decided to hold demonstrations across Tamil Nadu in order to impress upon the need for the Centre to take immediate steps for preventing the damage being done to the lives and properties of Hindus in Bangladesh. However, the State police denied permission for the demonstrations, he complained.

A government advocate (criminal side) told the court that the situation in Bangladesh had improved ever since the interim government began taking steps to prevent violence and therefore, there was absolutely no need to hold demonstrations at this point of time. He feared that the organisers might rake up other unrelated issues.

However, the judge said the steps taken by the interim government was a subsequent development whereas the petitioner organisation had made applications to the police as early as on August 8 seeking permission for the demonstrations on August 12. The reasons cited for rejection at that point of time were untenable, he said.

Since it was a democratic right to hold demonstrations peacefully, the petitioner organisation must be allowed to do so, he said. When the law officer feared that the demonstrators might end up creating law and order issues by raking up unconnected issues, the judge said, the police could always initiate appropriate action for that.