Arvind Mishra v. The Commissioner of Police & Ors.

1. The present petition has been filed by the petitioner being aggrieved by the denial of permission for holding a procession on 12.04.2025, on the occasion of Hanuman Jayanti. It is submitted that a Hanuman Temple has been in existence in Jahangir Puri since time immemorial.

2. It is submitted that the petitioner has been involved in organising procession/s in the area since the year 2010, on the occasion of Hanuman Jayanti. However, since the year 2019, the respondents have not granted the requisite approval/permission for the purpose of holding of procession on the occasion of Hanuman Jayanti.

3. Initially, the grievance raised by the petitioner was that in the previous years as also in the current year, the respondents have been remiss in taking timely decision on the application/s submitted by the petitioner for the purpose of holding procession. Vide order dated 01.04.2025 it was directed as under:-

4. Consequently, a Status Report has been filed on behalf of the SHO, PS Jahangirpuri wherein it has been mentioned that an incident of riot in the area of Jahangir Puri took place in the year 2022, on the occasion of Hanuman Jayanti, during Shobha Yatra, “in which several rounds of gun firing took place by the rioters and one police personnel sustained gun injury and several other police/public persons also got injured in the riot.”

5. It is further stated in the Status Report that after the riots in the year 2022, the permission for procession/Shobha Yatra was not granted to any person, keeping in view the volatile and uncertain situation in the area.

6. In the above circumstances, this Court is not inclined to sit in appeal over the decision taken by the concerned police authorities keeping in mind the security/law and order considerations.

7. However, learned counsel for the petitioners submits that a route can been drawn up for the purpose of holding a limited procession which will allay the concerns of the security agencies/police authorities as regards maintenance of law and order, in the event of such procession being held.

8. Learned standing counsel appearing for the respondents also submits that in the event of a fresh application being submitted by the petitioner, clearly setting out the route and duration of the procession proposed to be held, the same can be considered by the concerned police authorities.

9. It is noteable that the learned standing counsel appearing for the respondents has himself referred to a judgment of the Madras High Court[1] in which, the Court frowned upon denial of permission for holding a religious procession on the ground of difficulty expressed by the district administration (in that case) for making necessary arrangements for the peaceful conduct of the procession. Attention in this regard has also been drawn to a judgment of the Calcutta High Court 2

10. In the circumstances, the present petition is disposed of with liberty to the petitioner to submit a fresh application to the respondent for holding a procession on 12.04.2025, clearly setting out the route and the duration thereof.. Learned standing counsel accedes that an endeavour be made to accommodate the petitioner’s request, and thereby safeguard the petitioner’s rights under Article 19 of the Constitution of India.

11. Respondents are directed to endeavour to consider the said application and take an appropriate and timely decision. The authorities may bear in mind that occurrence of an untoward incident in the year 2022, cannot necessarily preclude holding of procession/s on religious occasion/s, as per the prevalent practise in the previous years. It is incumbent on the respondents/police authorities to make adequate security arrangements for the said purpose.

12. Let the matter be suitably examined by the senior officials of the Delhi Police and an appropriate decision be taken and communicated to the petitioner, prior to the date on which the procession is proposed to be held.

13. The present petition stands disposed of in the above terms. Pending application also stands disposed of.