On Caste-Based Rallies In UP, Court Seeks Centre, Poll Panel's Response

The Lucknow bench of Allahabad High Court has directed the chief election commissioner, the Centre and the Uttar Pradesh government to file their counter affidavits within four weeks on a petition seeking complete ban on caste-based rallies in the state. The bench has granted two weeks time to the petitioner for filing a rejoinder affidavit.

The court also directed for listing the case after six weeks for next hearing.

A bench of Justice Ramesh Sinha and Justice Subhash Vidyarthi passed the order on Tuesday on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by Motilal Yadav in 2013.

The bench had earlier issued notices to four major political parties of Uttar Pradesh, seeking their response as to why there should not be a complete ban on caste-based rallies in the state.

The bench had also asked the chief election commissioner as to why the poll body should not take action against those holding such rallies.

Hearing the PIL on July 11, 2013, the HC bench had put an interim ban on organising caste-based rallies in the northern state.

"The unrestricted freedom to hold caste-based rallies, which is to the total disliking and beyond the comprehension of the modern generation and also being contrary to the public interest, cannot be justified. It will rather be an act of negating the rule of law and denying the fundamental rights to citizens," the court had observed.

"In their attempt to seek political base in the caste system by means of politicisation, it appears that the political parties have seriously disturbed the social fabrics and cohesiveness. It has rather resulted in causing social fissions," it said.

The petitioner had submitted that caste minorities in the country have been reduced to "second-class citizens" in their own country owing to such 'anti-democratic' activities of political parties designed to woo the votes of majority groups.