HC declines interim relief to Togadia

VHP leader had moved court against ban order

The High Court of Karnataka refused to grant interim relief to Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) leader, Praveen Togadia, to enable him to attend the Virat Hindu Samavesha held in Udupi on Monday.

Togadia had moved the High Court challenging the ban imposed by the government on his entry into Karnataka citing communal disharmony.

Hearing the petition, Justice S Abdul Nazeer refused to grant him interim stay to attend the Samavesha.

“At this stage, the grant of interim order will not serve any purpose. It is unnecessary         to consider it,” the judge noted.

Mentioning the ban on Togadia even as the VHP has scheduled several Hindu conventions in the State, his counsel Prasanna Deshpande submitted, “We have a programme scheduled at 4 pm today (Monday), but they have restricted the movement of the petitioner. The freedom of speech granted under the Constitution of India has been curtailed.

Petitioner’s contention

The counsel informed the court that the VHP, which was celebrating the 50th anniversary of its inception, had organised events across the country.

“These events are conducted in each and every district in the country. The petitioner has made 118 speeches across the country, including in Jammu and Kashmir, and eight in Karnataka. No untoward incident occurred anywhere in the country and no cases are registered against him, but the State government has imposed a ban on his entry unnecessarily,” he said.

Deshpande sought the court’s direction to the government to lift the ban and allow Togadia to attend the event.

The court, however, refused to grant the interim relief and adjourned the matter with a direction to the government to file objections.