Bombay High Court declines blanket stay on police detentions of protesters

MUMBAI – The Bombay High Court on Tuesday turned down a request for an interim directive barring police from detaining demonstrators protesting against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, choosing instead to address individual claims of unlawful action as they arise.

The petition, brought by advocate Sagar Devre, contends that Mumbai police unlawfully detained hundreds of peaceful demonstrators over the weekend. Marches took place in Mumbai on October 10 and 11 to express solidarity with demonstrations in the national capital against the CEC, with the plea noting that the detained individuals included women, women accompanied by minor children, and students. The filing seeks to safeguard the fundamental rights of citizens, peaceful demonstrators, and lawyers, while urging the court to direct law enforcement to exercise restraint and respect the right to peaceful assembly against arbitrary detentions.

Advocate Manish Tomar, representing the petitioner, pressed the division bench for a general restraint on police detentions during ongoing peaceful demonstrations. The bench rejected the request for a blanket stay.

“We cannot pass a blanket order saying no person shall be detained. You point out if there is any such instance, we will take care. We will not permit anything wrong,” the court observed.

Additional Government Pleader Manish Upadhye asked the bench for time to collect instructions from the relevant authorities concerning the petition’s claims. The high court granted the request, adjourned the proceedings, and set the next hearing for October 19.