Supreme Court ruling on Roadside Meetings
The Supreme Court judgment on roadside meetings is a welcome development. It is a setback to the political parties and certain social groups and cultural organizations, which take out processions and rallies at the slightest provocation. Political leaders, as usual, have come out with scathing remarks against this ruling, the prominent among them being that of Mr. M V Jayarajan, who said courts in the country were haunted by the ghosts of the Emergency days. He feels that judges in the courts should not pass such orders because they will torpedo the democracy in the country. Politicians, irrespective of hue or color, forget that freedom is not a one way street that can be walked by politicians alone. Freedom means freedom for every citizen of the country to move about freely as he wishes in the course of his day-to-day activities. Demonstrations and agitations called by political parties often cause innumerable hardships to the lay public. Actually, what these political parties and other groups are doing is abusing their freedom, and in the process trampling upon the freedoms of others.The Supreme Court judgment is truly in tune with the spirit of the Constitution