SC declines urgent hearing of BJP’s plea for ‘rath yatras’ in West Beng

‘Peaceful rally cannot be stopped on the basis of conjectures’

The Supreme Court on Monday refused urgent hearing on an appeal by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) against the Calcutta High Court order’s denial of permission for rath yatra in West Bengal. According to news agency ANI, the Supreme Court registrar refused to accord urgent hearing before the vacation bench on an appeal by the BJP.

The lawyer associated with the plea said they have been informed by the apex court registry that the matter would be listed in the normal course. The top court is closed for winter vacations.

The party, which sought an urgent hearing on the petition, had planned to launch the yatra from three districts of the state.

The Division Bench of the Calcutta High Court comprising Chief Justice Debasish Kargupta and Justice Shampa Sarkar had sent the case back to the single bench to consider intelligence inputs given by the state agencies.

The division bench passed the order after hearing an appeal filed by the Mamata Banerjee government, challenging the single bench order.

The party approached the Supreme Court seeking permission to hold the campaign ‘Save Democracy Rally’, which would cover 42 parliamentary constituencies in the state ahead of the 2019 general elections.

The ruling Trinamool Congress government in the state had denied permission for the rath yatra on December 15 after much parleys on the grounds that it might lead to communal tension.