Summary:
By Express News ServiceBENGALURU: The Karnataka High Court on Thursday termed as illegal the prohibitory orders imposed under Section 144 of CrPC by the City Police Commissioner in December 2019 in the light of the anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) protests in Bengaluru. The orders were passed “without application of mind” and without following due procedures, the court noted. The state government had contended that prohibitory orders were passed based on reports submitted by the DCPs who expressed apprehension about anti-social elements creating law and order problems and damaging public property by taking advantage of the anti-CAA protests. Only then can the extraordinary powers conferred on the district magistrate can be exercised. Hence, exercise of power under Section 144 by the commissioner, as district magistrate, was not at all legal”, the bench said..