A division bench of Justices Ravindra Ghuge and Abhay Mantri made the remarks on Monday while considering a request for permission to hold a one-day protest by the Dhangar community seeking reservation. The petition was filed by Deepak Borhade after the police denied permission to use the ground
The court noted that while permission is often sought for a single day, protesters frequently overstay, causing inconvenience and disruption. Representational Pic
Protesters had “ruined” the city during Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange’s hunger strike last year and left without clearing the mess, the Bombay High Court (HC) observed while hearing a plea seeking permission for another reservation protest at Azad Maidan.
A division bench of Justices Ravindra Ghuge and Abhay Mantri made the remarks on Monday while considering a request for permission to hold a one-day protest by the Dhangar community seeking reservation, news agency PTI reported. The petition was filed by Deepak Borhade after the police denied permission to use the ground.
HC noted that while permission is often sought for a single day, protesters frequently overstay, causing inconvenience and disruption.
"We remember the protests held last year by the Maratha community," the court said, adding that they sought permission for one day, but did not leave for six days.
The protestors overstayed and "ruined the city", the bench added.
"We had specifically asked the protestors to clean the areas occupied by them before leaving. But they ran away without cleaning and the civic body had to clean up the mess," Justice Ghuge said.
The court posted the petition for hearing on January 28, PTI reported.
Borhade had sought permission to organise a peaceful protest on Wednesday for the Dhangar reservation, but the court, refusing an urgent hearing, said a protest can be held on any day.
Activist Manoj Jarange had launched a hunger strike at Azad Maidan on August 29 last year, seeking reservation for the Marathas.
Thousands of his supporters landed in the city, bringing South Mumbai to a standstill.
Following the high court's intervention and talks with the Maharashtra government, Jarange on September 3 called off the protest.
NH-48 jammed as protest against Vadhavan Port disrupts Mumbai–Ahmedabad traffic
A major traffic jam occurred on Monday along the Mumbai-Ahmedabad NH-48 highway due to a protest against the Vadhavan Port and “other destructive mega projects being imposed on the district”, including on forest and land across Palghar and Dahanu. The large crowd comprising Communist party members dressed in black marched from Tarapur to Palghar, where local fishermen, the Adivasi community, and labourers joined them in protesting outside the Collector’s Office.
The protesters strongly opposed the Vadhavan Port, the proposed airport, Murbe Port, the Kelwe Textile Park, and the so-called ‘Fourth Mumbai’ project. They alleged that these projects are environmentally destructive, socially unjust, and pose a direct threat to the survival of the local population.
Speaking with mid-day Ramkrishnan Tandel, president of the National Fishworkers Forum (NFF), said, “All these projects will lead to the destruction of traditional fishing livelihoods and marine ecosystems, apart from large-scale displacement of Adivasi and farming communities. There will be a loss of agricultural land, salt pans, mangroves, and shared coastal resources due to these projects. These projects will destroy around 107 villages from Palghar to Dahanu. Such destructive development will not be accepted by the people of Palghar.”
Tandel asserted that fishermen will not be able to fish if Vadhavan Port is constructed.
“This project is not environmentally friendly; it will damage the sea, forest and land,” he added.
The Communist party was set to march and protest at the Palghar Collector’s Office today as well. As a result, major traffic jams can be expected on the NH-48, impacting those travelling between Mumbai and Gujarat.
(With PTI inputs)
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