SC notice to Goa on Muthalik's plea

The Supreme Court on Tuesday issued notice to the Goa government on a plea by Sri Ram Sena chief Pramod Muthalik challenging the repeated orders passed to ban his entry there.

A bench of Justices Dipak Misra and Arun Mishra sought response from the state government within four weeks after advocate Vishnu Shankar Jain, appearing for Muthalik contended the repeated extension of bar on his entry to the state since 2014 was violative of the petitioner’s fundamental rights.

The court did not allow a plea by the petitioner for interim stay on the orders by the state government, saying, “Let’s first see its response.”

The petitioner, who hailed from Hubballi, urged the apex court to quash the notification issued by the Goa government on September 23, last for being “repetitive, unconstitutional and beyond the scope and purview of Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure 1973”.