Calcutta High Court Orders West Bengal Police to Report on FIR Against VHP Regarding Ram Navami Event

Key Takeaways

The Calcutta High Court is overseeing the FIR against VHP.
West Bengal Police must justify their actions by April 25.
The VHP claims to have followed court restrictions on participants.
Another organization, APS, faces similar charges.
Permission for processions was initially denied but later granted.

Kolkata, April 10 (NationPress) A single-judge bench of the Calcutta High Court has instructed the West Bengal Police to provide a comprehensive report explaining the rationale behind the filing of an FIR against the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) concerning a Ram Navami procession.

The VHP had organized this event in the Howrah district, adjacent to Kolkata, on April 6.

Justice Tirthankar Ghosh, presiding over the single-judge bench, has mandated the police to submit this report, including relevant documentation, by April 25. The police are required to elucidate the reasons for initiating criminal proceedings based on the FIR.

This FIR accused the VHP of breaching court-imposed restrictions on the Ram Navami procession, particularly regarding the maximum number of participants allowed. However, the VHP contested this FIR in the Calcutta High Court.

During the hearing on Thursday, the VHP's legal counsel presented a list of participants from the procession, complete with identity verification documents such as Aadhaar cards.

The VHP's representation argued that while the rally's organizers adhered to the court's participant limit, many individuals gathered along the streets to observe the procession.

The counsel contended that the police inaccurately categorized these onlookers as part of the procession, claiming that the actual count of participants was merely 303.

Consequently, the judge instructed the state police to substantiate the reasons for the FIR and to provide a detailed report to the court by April 25.

Additionally, it has been reported that an FIR was filed against another organization, Anjani Putra Sena (APS), which held a similar procession in the Howrah district on April 6 in celebration of Ram Navami. The allegations against APS mirrored those against the VHP: exceeding the court-mandated limit on participant numbers.

Interestingly, the police had initially denied both the VHP and APS permission to conduct their Ram Navami processions in the Howrah district. However, both groups subsequently obtained permission from the Calcutta High Court to proceed with their respective events.