[RG Kar Rape-Murder] Calcutta High Court Allows Sit-In Protest By Doctor's Forum, Says Every Citizen Has Right To Protest Peacefully

The Calcutta High Court has upheld a single judge order allowing a peaceful sit-in demonstration by the joint forum for doctors, against the brutal rape and murder of a trainee doctor at Kolkata's RG Kar medical college and Hospital.

A division bench of Justice Harish Tandon and Hiranmay Bhattacharya however, modified the single judge's order to the extent of reducing the total attendance at the protest to 100 doctors from the earlier sanctioned 250, due to the state's appeal that major roads would be blocked, causing difficulties to commuters during the busy Christmas period. It held:

"Every citizen of a country has a right to make a peaceful protest provided a sufficient safeguard is taken in this regard which does not encroach upon the rights of the people at large. There has been a nationwide protest in relation to such unprecedented incident and the Doctors forum being a responsible citizen of the country are aware that any protest which would cause inconvenience or encroach upon the rights of the parties are not acceptable. Every citizen of the country has a right to make a peaceful protest and, therefore, while refusing to grant such permission, the authorities must also bear in mind the other past incidents where the permission was granted."

Case: The State of West Bengal & ors. Vs. Joint Platform of Doctors & anr

Case No: MAT 2345 of 2024

Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (Cal) 286

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