New Delhi, 16 September (H.S.): The Delhi High Court on Wednesday declined to entertain on an urgent basis a plea seeking permission to hold a protest at Jantar Mantar on September 20 against reservation and University Grants Commission (UGC) rules. A Bench headed by Chief Justice D.K. Upadhyaya told the petitioner to rectify the defects in the petition, following which it would be listed automatically.

The counsel appearing for the petitioner submitted that the Delhi Police had initially granted permission for the protest scheduled for September 20 but later withdrew or denied the permission. The Court observed that since the protest was scheduled for September 20 and the petition had already been filed, it would automatically come up for listing once the procedural defects were rectified.

Earlier, the High Court had directed the Delhi Police to take a decision by September 14 on the request for permission to hold a protest at Jantar Mantar against reservation and UGC rules. The Kshatriya Karni Sena plans to hold the protest at Jantar Mantar on September 20.

The Karni Sena had initially sought permission to hold the protest on September 6, but the police refused permission citing preparations for the BRICS Summit. On September 3, the High Court had asked the petitioner to change the date of the proposed protest, observing that there was nothing particularly significant about September 6 and that another date could be chosen if the police were not agreeable to the proposed schedule.

The petition was filed by Karni Sena chief Raj Shekhawat. The organisation has sought permission to stage a protest against UGC rules. In a letter addressed to the Delhi Police on August 27, it stated that the demonstration would be peaceful. The Delhi Police rejected the application on August 28, citing preparations for the BRICS Summit.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar