HC imposes cost on man for unwarranted remarks on leaders

Madurai: The right to protest cannot be elevated into a right to occupy any place, at any time, for any duration, solely at the will of the person asserting it, Madras high court observed on Tuesday, while dismissing a plea by a man who sought grant of permission to conduct daily protests at a busy junction in Theni district till the end of ‘World War'.A peaceful protest, when undertaken within the framework of law, is a legitimate democratic expression; however, such rights are not absolute in character, the court added and imposed a cost of 50,000 on the man who refused to hold the protest at alternative locations near the statues of B R Ambedkar or Pasumpon Muthuramalinga Thevar by asserting that both the leaders had become icons of casteism.The court was hearing the petition filed by S Prabhu. The petitioner challenged the order passed by the Thenkarai police that refused permission for conducting daily protests till the end of ‘World War'.Justice L Victoria Gowri observed that the petitioner seeks permission for protest extending indefinitely ‘until the World War ends'. Such a request, by its very nature, places an impossible administrative burden on the authorities and disregards the need for regulation of public spaces. The particular junction chosen by the petitioner is a busy location and any daily protest at such a place would hinder the general public. The judge observed that during the course of hearing, when the court called upon the petitioner to indicate whether he would be willing to consider an alternate venue, it was represented that police were prepared to permit the proposed programme at alternative places, namely, near the Ambedkar statue at Periyakulam or near the Muthuramalinga Thevar statue at Vadakarai, Periyakulam. The petitioner refused on the assertion that both leaders had become icons of casteism and that he therefore did not wish to conduct his protest in the vicinity of their statues."This court is constrained to observe that such remarks, made in the course of a judicial proceeding, are wholly unwarranted. Ambedkar occupies an exalted place in the constitutional history of this nation as the principal architect of the Constitution of India and as a towering voice for social justice, equality, and human dignity. Likewise, Muthuramalinga Thevar is remembered as a significant historical and political figure. A litigant cannot be permitted to justify his refusal of reasonable alternatives by making disparaging generalisations about personalities of such public importance," the judge observed.Taking a serious view of the conduct of the petitioner in making intemperate remarks about nationally and regionally respected public figures, while simultaneously consuming precious judicial time, the judge dismissed the petition and imposed the cost payable to the Victoria Memorial Govt Higher Secondary School in Periyakulam in Theni district within a week. In default of payment of cost within the stipulated time, the petitioner shall undergo simple imprisonment for one day in the sub-jail in Periyakulam, the judge directed.