HC brushes aside govt's objections, allows Mohan Bhagwat rally in Kolkata

The Mamata Banerjee Government received a jolt from Calcutta High Court today when it brushed aside objections of the State authorities towards holding a rally to be addressed by Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh's Sarsanghchalak Mohan Bhagwat.

- SUPROTIM MUKHERJEE

The Calcutta High Court granted conditional permission to the RSS to hold the rally in Purba Bardhaman district on February 16.

Organisers of the rally, which RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat is scheduled to address, had moved court after the State authorities denied permission on grounds that the use of loudspeakers during the ongoing Madhyamik Pariksha (secondary exams) would cause disturbance to examinees.

The bench of Justice Amrita Sinha granted permission for the rally, planned on Sunday when no exams are scheduled, provided the organisers kept a check on the strength of the attending crowd as well as on the volume of the sound boxes and ensure that examinees appearing for the ongoing secondary exams and the upcoming Higher Secondary exams are not inconvenienced. "Conduct the rally peacefully, the sound should be low," the Calcutta HC said in its ruling.