Mumbai: Court Permits Uddhav Thackeray Faction To Hold Dussehra Gathering At Shivaji Park

Mumbai, 24^th October 2022: The High Court on Friday overturned the Mumbai Municipal Corporation’s decision to deny permission to Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena for a planned Dussehra rally at Dadar’s Shivaji Park ground, saying it was an improper and flagrant abuse of legal process and allowed Thackeray to hold the rally.

A bench of Justice Ramesh Dhanuka and Justice Kamal Khata while accepting the petition of the Thackeray group also noted that the decision of the Mumbai Municipal Corporation was not correct, as the Municipal Corporation had earlier allowed the petitioners to hold a Dussehra gathering at Shivaji Park. This gathering will be held on 5^th October.

Stating that MLA Sada Saravankar of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s group had also applied for permission to hold a gathering at Shivaji Park, the bench commented that the decision of the Municipal Corporation to reject the permit application of the Thackeray group was a flagrant abuse of the process of law. The Municipal Corporation misused its powers. Therefore, the court clarified that the plea of the Thackeray group seeking permission to intervene in this matter and hold a Dussehra gathering at Shivaji Park is correct.

The court allowed the Shiv Sena to use the Shivaji Park grounds from 2^nd October to 6^th October. But the court also ordered filming of the entire gathering to maintain law and order. Not only this, but the court also clarified that if a law-and-order problem arises during the gathering, the municipal corporation will have the right to refuse permission in the future on the same issue.