PIL against siege of assembly over CAA on Feb 19

The Madras High Court will hear on Tuesday a PIL seeking to forebear the police from allowing a proposed agitation to lay siege to Tamil Nadu assembly by some organisations, including Muslim outfits, pressing their demand for a House resolution against CAA, NRC and NPR.

When mention was made before the first bench, comprising Chief Justice AP Sahi and Justice Subramonium Prasad, seeking an urgent hearing, it directed the petitioners, including journalist Varaki, to file the public interest litigation and said it would take it up on Tuesday.

The petitioners submitted that the organisations have announced they would besiege the assembly on Wednesday to bring pressure on the AIADMK government to move a resolution opposing the Citizenship Amendment Act, National Population Register and National Register of Citizens.

Referring to continuing agitations, including the latest stir in a north Chennai locality, by various organisations opposing the CAA and other measures, they alleged innocent public was being incited to join such protests and create problems by spreading rumours.

Besides, some leaders of the organisations were also delivering inciting and intimidating speeches, even going to the extent of issuing a threat to the lives of the Prime Minister and the Union Home Minister, they submitted.

If the assembly siege agitation was allowed and a large number of protesters permitted to gather near the Secretariat, there would be a complete collapse of the normal functioning of the state government, the petitioners said seeking to prohibit it.