Agartala: The High Court of Tripura accepted the terminated teachers’ petition and directed the Tripura police to permit them to hold agitation.
Speaking with reporters, Bijoy Krishna Saha, the leader of Joint Movement Committee (JMC), a joint body of the terminated 10,323 teachers, said the single-bench Judge ordered the state to grant permission for sit-in demonstration, but the spot can change as per convenience.
Justice Subhasish Talapatra directed the police authorities to not act arbitrarily or as the despot.
“While taking a decision on whether the permission or whether they can give clearance to a proposal sent for their consideration for holding public assembly and demonstration in a place and or during the proposed time, they may prescribe the conditions in the interest of the public order,” Justice Talapatra observed.
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“The police cannot take a stand that they would not permit to hold assembly or demonstration. That would constitute total prohibition. Such prohibition is unconstitutional and inoperative,” Justice Talapatra observed.
The Court order also stated that the police authority should engage in dialogue with the person or the organisation intimating the proposal for public assembly or demonstration.
“…the police authority shall give the primacy to grant the permission, denial will be the exception and while exercising the said exception, all sorts of options be considered so that no section of the citizenry feels that the police of independent India is suppressing them in voicing their legitimate dissent against any action of the state or any law”, the Court observed.
Saha said Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb had informed the house on Thursday that the court had not accepted the petition for sit-in demonstration, which was incorrect.
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“We will again pray before the Sadar sub-divisional police officer (SDPO) for allowing the teachers to resume the sit-in demonstration. MLA Sudip Roy Barman had said in the Assembly that the SC has allowed absorbing them in the Group-C and Group-D but the education minister has not accepted the suggestion given by the legislator,” Saha added.
The terminated teachers of Tripura on February 6 last moved to the High Court of Tripura after the Tripura Police denied them permission to resume their sit-in demonstration in front of Agartala City Centre from February 3 last.
