Can't exile citizens for protesting against govt: Bombay High Court junks Mumbai Police order
The Bombay High Court scrapped a Mumbai Police order that barred a political activist from entering the city. The court held that the activist's protests against the government could not justify such a restriction.
The Bombay High Court on Thursday quashed a Mumbai Police order directing a political activist to leave the city, holding that organising marches or protests against decisions of the government could not, by itself, justify such action. The court said invoking externment (a provision under Maharashtra laws that allows police to bar a person from entering a specific region) on these grounds infringed upon the individual's fundamental rights.
Justice Madhav Jamdar, while hearing a petition filed by 49-year-old Saeed Ahmad Abdul Wahid Chaudhary, general secretary of the Socialist Democratic Party of India (SDPI), held that peaceful protests and sloganeering against government policies could not justify an externment order under the Maharashtra Police Act (MPA).
Chaudhary, a resident of Chembur who has also contested parliamentary elections, was externed from Mumbai city, its suburbs and adjoining areas for one year after multiple FIRs were registered against him between 2019 and 2024.
The cases were largely linked to protests against issues such as the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), the National Register of Citizens (NRC), the Gyanvapi mosque dispute, the demolition of the Babri Masjid, alleged corruption in the Waqf Board, and rising fuel prices.
Appearing for Chaudhary, advocate Payoshi Roy argued that five FIRs had been lodged against her client, most of them for staging protests against decisions of the Central government. The cases were registered under Section 188 of the Indian Penal Code, which deals with disobedience of orders promulgated by public authorities.
During the hearing, Justice Jamdar questioned why slogans such as "BJP government murdabad" and "Amit Shah murdabad" warranted an externment order issued by a Deputy Commissioner of Police. The judge orally observed that police officers were public authorities accountable to citizens, not functionaries of political leaders.
The court further remarked that citizens have a constitutional right to protest and agitate against government decisions, and that police authorities cannot banish individuals from their own city merely for participating in demonstrations or raising slogans.
Externment proceedings against Chaudhary began with a show-cause notice issued on October 20, 2025, under the Maharashtra Police Act.
In December 2025, the Deputy Commissioner of Police, Chembur, directed that he be externed from Mumbai and its suburban limits for 12 months, citing allegations in the FIRs that his activities had created fear and threatened public order. The order was later upheld by the Divisional Commissioner of the Konkan Division.
Challenging both orders before the High Court, Chaudhary argued that the externment prevented him from carrying out political and organisational work in his own constituency during the run-up to the Mumbai civic body elections.
He also contended that preventive police powers had been misused to suppress democratic dissent through vague allegations, including claims that he had created a "kingdom of terror", which he said were contradicted by local residents and shopkeepers.
Allowing the petition, Justice Jamdar held that the externment order amounted to a mala fide exercise of police powers and that Chaudhary's participation in protests could not be treated as a valid ground for externment under the Maharashtra Police Act.
The court quashed both the original externment order and the appellate order, observing that they were based solely on Chaudhary's role in organising and participating in protests, and that such action violated his fundamental rights guaranteed under Articles 19 and 21 of the Constitution.
The Bombay High Court on Thursday quashed a Mumbai Police order directing a political activist to leave the city, holding that organising marches or protests against decisions of the government could not, by itself, justify such action. The court said invoking externment (a provision under Maharashtra laws that allows police to bar a person from entering a specific region) on these grounds infringed upon the individual's fundamental rights.
Justice Madhav Jamdar, while hearing a petition filed by 49-year-old Saeed Ahmad Abdul Wahid Chaudhary, general secretary of the Socialist Democratic Party of India (SDPI), held that peaceful protests and sloganeering against government policies could not justify an externment order under the Maharashtra Police Act (MPA).
Chaudhary, a resident of Chembur who has also contested parliamentary elections, was externed from Mumbai city, its suburbs and adjoining areas for one year after multiple FIRs were registered against him between 2019 and 2024.
The cases were largely linked to protests against issues such as the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), the National Register of Citizens (NRC), the Gyanvapi mosque dispute, the demolition of the Babri Masjid, alleged corruption in the Waqf Board, and rising fuel prices.
Appearing for Chaudhary, advocate Payoshi Roy argued that five FIRs had been lodged against her client, most of them for staging protests against decisions of the Central government. The cases were registered under Section 188 of the Indian Penal Code, which deals with disobedience of orders promulgated by public authorities.
During the hearing, Justice Jamdar questioned why slogans such as "BJP government murdabad" and "Amit Shah murdabad" warranted an externment order issued by a Deputy Commissioner of Police. The judge orally observed that police officers were public authorities accountable to citizens, not functionaries of political leaders.
The court further remarked that citizens have a constitutional right to protest and agitate against government decisions, and that police authorities cannot banish individuals from their own city merely for participating in demonstrations or raising slogans.
Externment proceedings against Chaudhary began with a show-cause notice issued on October 20, 2025, under the Maharashtra Police Act.
In December 2025, the Deputy Commissioner of Police, Chembur, directed that he be externed from Mumbai and its suburban limits for 12 months, citing allegations in the FIRs that his activities had created fear and threatened public order. The order was later upheld by the Divisional Commissioner of the Konkan Division.
Challenging both orders before the High Court, Chaudhary argued that the externment prevented him from carrying out political and organisational work in his own constituency during the run-up to the Mumbai civic body elections.
He also contended that preventive police powers had been misused to suppress democratic dissent through vague allegations, including claims that he had created a "kingdom of terror", which he said were contradicted by local residents and shopkeepers.
Allowing the petition, Justice Jamdar held that the externment order amounted to a mala fide exercise of police powers and that Chaudhary's participation in protests could not be treated as a valid ground for externment under the Maharashtra Police Act.
The court quashed both the original externment order and the appellate order, observing that they were based solely on Chaudhary's role in organising and participating in protests, and that such action violated his fundamental rights guaranteed under Articles 19 and 21 of the Constitution.
