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The bench held that a solitary incident of violence in 2022 could not, by itself, justify denying permission for religious processions. Disposing of a petition related to Hanuman Jayanti, the court permitted the petitioner to file a fresh application with a detailed proposal for the route and duration. The court further directed authorities to make a timely, fair, and security-conscious decision.
The Delhi High Court, recently, held that “occurrence of an untoward incident in the year 2022, cannot necessarily preclude holding of procession/s on religious occasion/s, as per the prevalent practise in the previous years”. The bench of Justice Sachin Datta made these observations in a petition challenging the denial of permission to hold a procession on the occasion of Hanuman Jayanti.
The petitioner submitted that a Hanuman Temple had existed in Jahangirpuri since time immemorial. It was further argued that the petitioner had been involved in organizing processions in the area on the occasion of Hanuman Jayanti since the year 2010. However, since 2019, the respondents have not granted the necessary approval or permission for conducting such processions.
Initially, the grievance raised by the petitioner pertained to the respondents' failure in previous years, as well as the current year, to make a timely decision on the applications submitted for permission to hold the procession.
In response, a Status Report was filed by the SHO of Police Station of Jahangirpuri, stating that a riot had occurred in the area on Hanuman Jayanti in 2022 during a Shobha Yatra, during which several rounds of gunfire were reported, resulting in a police personnel sustaining a gunshot injury along with injuries to other police and public persons.
The Status Report further stated that after the 2022 riots, permission for any procession or Shobha Yatra had not been granted to any individual, considering the volatile and uncertain conditions prevailing in the area.
In view of these circumstances, the court expressed its unwillingness to interfere with the decision of the concerned police authorities, which was taken in consideration of security and law and order concerns. The court remarked, “this Court is not inclined to sit in appeal over the decision taken by the concerned police authorities keeping in mind the security/law and order considerations”.
However, counsel for the petitioner submitted that a specific route could be proposed for a limited procession, which might address the apprehensions of the police authorities regarding the maintenance of law and order should the procession take place.
Standing Counsel Bhagwan Swarup Shukla, for the respondents, submitted that if a fresh application was submitted by the petitioner clearly indicating the route and duration of the proposed procession, the same could be considered by the competent police authorities.
Accordingly, the court disposed of the petition with liberty granted to the petitioner to submit a fresh application to the respondent authorities for holding the procession on with the proposed route and duration.
The respondents were directed to consider the fresh application and take an appropriate and timely decision. It was also observed that the occurrence of an untoward incident in 2022 should not, by itself, preclude the holding of religious processions, as had been the practice in previous years. The court further noted, “It is incumbent on the respondents/police authorities to make adequate security arrangements for the said purpose”.
Accordingly, the court disposed of the petition with the aforementioned remarks.
For State: Standing Counsel Bhagwan Swarup Shukla with Advocates Sarvan Kumar, Satyam Singh and Mukesh PandeyCase Title: Arvind Mishra v Commissioner Of Police (2025:DHC:2509)
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