Bombay High Court upholds right to travel and quashes entry ban ahead of elections in Yeola | India News – Times of India

Mumbai: The fundamental rights of a citizen to travel freely within the territory of India cannot be ‘undermined’ by mere apprehension of a ‘law and order situation’, staging of demonstrations or previous FIRs. Judge Bharati Dangre by Bombay High Court said Tuesday. Justice Dangre quashed a magistrate’s order banning a Nashik man from Niphad from entering the Yeola Legislative Assembly constituency between November 18 and 24.
For the November 20 poll, current MLA Chhagan Bhujbal of the NCP will take on Uday Sangle of the NCP-SP for the close contest in Yeola.
Justice Dangre said: “An absolute ban on holding gatherings or processions would nullify the right guaranteed by the Constitution, and the state can only make rules in support of the right of assembly of citizens but cannot absolutely ban the activities .”
The entry ban was issued on November 13 against Prasad Phapale, a resident of Niphad Taluka.
The special executive magistrate – a deputy SP, Nashik Rural – invoked Section 163 of the BNSS, 2023, which empowers a magistrate to issue orders in ‘urgent situations’ of ‘potential danger or nuisance’. The order, however, allowed Phapale to vote at his polling booth before 9 am. The state said Phapale is a Maratha and on November 17 took part in a rally in support of activist Jarange Patil, blocking traffic in violation of the poll’s code of conduct. Phapale said a November 5 announcement prior to the order was a “trick” by the “sitting MLA of Yeola”. He said his right to protest cannot be curtailed “by abuse of political power.”
“A mere arrest without any supporting material will not justify the exercise of power as it is expected that satisfaction should be based on relevant material placed before the authority,” Justice Dangre said.