The Bombay High Court has said that an externment order cannot be issued merely because a person participates in agitations or protests against the government, while setting aside a year-long externment order passed against a local political leader.

A single bench of Justice Madhav Jamdar, in an order passed on Thursday, quashed the externment order issued against Saeed Ahmad Abdul Wahid Chaudhary and observed that action taken solely for opposing certain decisions of the Government of India affects fundamental rights, including freedom of speech and expression and the right to live with dignity.