Back-to-back Section 144: HC strikes down Gujarat govt’s practice
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Gandhinagar: The Gujarat High Court has struck down the Ahmedabad Police’s practice of imposing back-to-back Section 144 orders in a recent order. The court called the state’s conduct “arbitrary, unjustified, and violative of fundamental rights”, The Wire reported.
The December 4 order by Justice MR Mengdey quashed notifications issued under section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure under which an offence had been registered against some people protesting against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act in 2019.
In the present case, the notifications issued by the authorities violated the fundamental rights of citizens, the HC said.
Section 144 of the CrPC empowered authorities to issue urgent orders banning the assembly of four or more persons in public places in certain cases. Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, which replaced the CrPC, contains a similar provision.
The petitioners had challenged the issuance of the notification under Section 144 as well as the case registered against them for the protest in Ahmedabad.
The notifications were not publicised sufficiently, and therefore, they were not aware of the prohibitory order, the petition argued.
"In the present era, mere publication of such notifications or orders in the official gazette would not be sufficient....the public at large has no access to such official gazette. In the era, where several modes of mass communication, including social media platforms are available, it is incumbent upon the respondent authorities to publish such notifications /orders by using such modes," the high court said.
The authorities should take due care in "adhering to the procedural aspects and the inherent safeguards required for exercising such powers, and the notifications /orders issued under these provisions be given wide publicity on social media," the HC directed.