Bengaluru
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah today said the state government will challenge the stay issued by the Dharwad Bench of the High Court on its recent circular regulating public gatherings, asserting that an appeal will be filed before the Division Bench.
"Dharwad Bench has given an order of stay. We will appeal against this order in the Divisional Bench," Siddaramaiah told reporters here, maintaining that the government would take all necessary legal measures to safeguard decisions taken in public interest.
Earlier in the day, the Dharwad Bench stayed the Home Department's October 18 circular that treated peaceful assemblies of more than ten persons in public spaces as unlawful.
The interim relief was granted during the hearing of a petition filed by Punashchetana Seva Samaste challenging the legality of the directive.
The government circular, which has drawn criticism from several organisations, is being widely viewed as an attempt to restrict RSS activities and morning shakhas in public parks and open spaces across the state.
Senior Advocate Ashok Haranhalli, representing the petitioners, argued that the circular infringed Article 19(1)(b) of the Constitution, which guarantees the right to peaceful assembly, and lacked legislative authority.
He said ordinary community activities like group walks or laughter clubs could not be criminalised, noting that parks and roads are governed by municipal bodies, not the Home Department.
The bench observed that the order appeared to violate fundamental rights under Article 19(1)(a) and 19(1)(b), stressing that executive directives cannot curtail constitutional liberties except through a valid law as mandated by Article 13(2).
Staying the circular and all actions taken under it, the court granted the government time to file objections. The matter will next be heard on Monday, November 17.
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