The Andhra Pradesh High Court overturned a government order that banned public meetings on roads and roadsides, citing public safety. The court heard a batch of petitions from leaders of various opposition parties and ruled that the order may violate people’s fundamental rights. The government had issued the order on January 2, 2023, after a stampede during a roadshow by the former chief minister resulted in eight deaths.
CPI state secretary Ramakrishna filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) challenging the order, alleging that it was meant to silence the opposition. The High Court had previously issued an interim order on January 12 suspending the order until January 23. The state government had moved the Supreme Court to challenge the stay order, but the court directed the division bench of the Andhra Pradesh High Court to expedite the hearing.
Former minister and TDP politburo member Kollu Ravindra, Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee president G Veera Venkata Rudraraju, former minister Kanna Lakshminarayana, AISF general secretary Shiva Reddy, AIYF state president Rajendra Babu, and others also filed petitions challenging the order. The High Court’s division bench, consisting of Chief Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra and Justice DVS Somayajulu, delivered the final verdict on Friday.
