The Calcutta High Court on Friday permitted Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) rally in Kolkata, where its chief Mohan Bhagwat is set to speak. .Justice Amrita Sinha overturned the decision of the State government which had denied permission for the rally Madhyamik (secondary school) exams and loudspeaker use.While giving permission for rally, the Court noted that the event falls on a Sunday and will last only 1 hour and 15 minutes."...the Madhyamik Examination is ongoing. However, as the event has been scheduled on a Sunday which is a holiday and, that too, for only 1 hour and 15 minutes and, according to the instruction of the State respondents, the nearest school in the locality is nearly 500 meters away from the SAI complex, hence, there is no scope for causing any interference or disturbance to the examinees at the time of the examination," the Court observed.The Court further directed the petitioner to ensure minimal sound to avoid disturbing students taking exams. .The petitioner, the Zilla Karyavaha of the RSS, stated that RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat planned to address volunteers and their families at the Sports Authority of India Complex in Bardhaman on February 16. While the venue was approved, the Department of Environment denied permission for microphones or sound boxes. The petitioner argued that without a sound system, the speech wouldn't reach the audience. It was clarified that only sound boxes would be used which would ensure that the sound remains within the event premises..The plea stated that two schools near the venue are about 1 and 2 km away and that the event, scheduled on a Sunday, would not interfere with exams. However, Advocate General Kishore Datta, appearing for the State, opposed the plea, citing a general prohibitory order in place since 2022, which bans loudspeakers near educational institutions starting three days before exams. The restriction was imposed to ensure the smooth conduct of examinations and the petitioner was expected to be aware of it and plan the event accordingly, he added..The High court observed that while Madhyamik exams were ongoing, the event was scheduled on a Sunday, a holiday, and for a limited duration. Therefore, it allowed the rally but directed the petitioners to ensure it does not disturb students preparing for their exams.Senior Advocates Dhiraj Trivedi, Billwadal Bhattacharya, Nilanjan Bhattacharya, Rajdeep Majumdar along with advocates Amit Chakraborty. Dipankar Dandapath, Loknath Chatterjee, Debashis Basu, Anirban Mitra, Kaustav Chandra Das, Sushil Kumar Mishra, Sukanta Ghosh, Arijit Majumdar, Guddu Singh, BP Singh, Tarun Jyoti Tiwari, Subroto Santra, Anish Mukherjee, Bikash Kumar Singh, Shakshi Rathi, Sunil Gupta, Swapna Jha, Anirban Mitra, Supriti Sarkar, Katha Sarkar, Indrani Chakraborty and Manabendra Bandopadhyay appeared for petitioner.Adovcate General Kishore Dutta along with advocates Sirsanya Bandopadhyay, Amrita Panja Moulick and Akash Dutta appeared for the State..[Read Order]
