Madras High Court: In a writ petition filed by a lawyer( petitioner) to direct the Commissioner of Police to grant permission to conduct indefinite fast at Collector office for demanding the Central Government to send the proposal made by the Tamil Nadu Government for getting the consent of the President of India regarding the use of Tamil language in the proceedings of High Court in Tamil Nadu in the light of Article 348(2) of the Constitution of India, 1950 and Section 7 of the Official Languages Act, 1963 and to desist from sending the file to the Chief Justice of India for consultation or any other arbitrary route other than the said Constitutional one, N.Anand Venkatesh,J. while directing the State to grant permission to the petitioner to conduct the indefinite fasting in the venue, remarked that the petitioner wants to express himself strongly demanding Tamil to be used as official language in the proceedings in the High Court. There is nothing illegal in this objective. However, the Court certain directions.
The State submitted that indefinite fasting cannot go on endlessly and that the participants must ensure that they do not cause any law-and-order problem, and they do not cause disturbance to the free movement of the public and vehicles.
The petitioner submitted that the fasting itself has been mooted to make Tamil as an official language in the High Court of Judicature at Madras. Therefore, considering the object behind the protest, there is no scope for any law-and-order problem in this case.
Thus, the Court directed the State to grant permission to the petitioner to conduct the indefinite fasting in the venue chosen near Rajarathinam stadium from 28-02-2024. The Court remarked that the petitioner wants to express himself strongly demanding Tamil to be used as official language in the proceedings in the High Court. There is nothing illegal in this objective. Hence, permission can be granted. However, the Court put the following conditions:
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The petitioner was directed to give an undertaking that he would not initiate violence while organising meetings in connection with his indefinite fasting and he should co-operate with the police to ensure law and order.
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The petitioner was directed to furnish the names and address of other members of his organisation, in case they are associating with the petitioner by joining the indefinite fasting.
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In case any of the leaders supporting the cause wanted to speak by arranging a meeting near the venue of fasting, prior intimation should be given to the jurisdictional police including details of persons and permission should be taken.
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The vehicles should not be parked near the venue.
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The Commissioner of Police was allowed to impose any other reasonable conditions to ensure the law and order required in law.
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The Commissioner of Police was given liberty to take appropriate action against anyone for any illegal activity under the guise of supporting the cause of petitioner in and around the venue which is likely to disrupt peace.
[G.Bhagavath Singh v. Commissioner of Police, 2024 SCC OnLine Mad 279, Order dated 09-02-2024]
Advocates who appeared in this case :
For Petitioner: Advocate R.Sankarasubbu
For Respondent: Government Advocate A.Gopinath
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