Kovai car blast: Litigant approaches HC to bar BJP’s bandh

CHENNAI: A Coimbatore-based litigant has approached the Madras High Court for a direction to restrain the Bharathiya Janata Party (BJP) and its functionaries from conducting a bandh on October 31 demanding the State to take stern action against the terror attacks.

The BJP has announced the one-day bandh after one Jameesha Mubin was charred to death on October 23 after a cylinder in his car burst out. The petitioner prayed for a direction to declare the bandh called by BJP on October 31 as illegal, unconstitutional, and grossly in violation of the dictum laid by the Supreme Court.

When an urgent mention was made by the petitioner’s counsel before the division bench of Justice Paresh Upadhyay and Justice D Bharatha Chakravarthy, the bench agreed to take the matter for hearing by 12.30 pm.

The petitioner named VR Venkatesh had filed this petition stating that the State has arrested six members in connection with the incident and they were booked under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) and the case was also transferred to the National Investigation Agency (NIA).

Sooner, the BJP declared a bandh on October 31 and demanded businessmen, industrialists, traders, and small shop owners to close their shops on October 31.

“Normal life of the citizens cannot be jeopardised by the political parties by issuing bandh calls for their political vendetta. I apprehend that the announcement of the illegal bandh would pose risk to the life, property, and liberty of any citizen or destruction of life and property,” Venkatesh said in his affidavit.

He further alleged that the State government has failed to take action against BJP for announcing a bandh illegally. “The bandh call made by the BJP would infringe the fundamental rights of citizens ensured in Articles 19 and 21 of the Constitution of India, ” the petitioner added.

He further prayed to pass an interim injunction restraining the saffron party from conducting the bandh till the disposal of the case.