The Bombay High Court on Tuesday restrained Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange-Patil and his associates from holding demonstrations at Azad Maidan in Mumbai without prior permission. Noting that “public places cannot be occupied indefinitely”, a Division Bench of Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice Sandeep V. Marne observed that while the right to protest is fundamental, it cannot be exercised at the cost of inconvenience to the public.
Mr. Jarange-Patil on Monday gave the State government until Tuesday to grant 10% quota to the Maratha community under the Other Backward Classes category, failing which he threatened to march to Mumbai with Maratha supporters and start an indefinite fast on August 29.
