The Bombay High Court on Tuesday asked Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange and his supporters to vacate Azad Maidan in south Mumbai by 3 pm.
Azad Maidan is the protest site which has been occupied since Friday by tens of thousands of demonstrators demanding Maratha reservation.
The Bombay HC on Tuesday warned of action, if Jarange and his supporters do not vacate the place.
A bench of acting Justice Chandrashekhar and Justice Aarti Sathe was hearing the matter.
The court expressed strong dissatisfaction over the crowd exceeding the permitted limit of 5,000 people, noting that an estimated 60,000 to 1,00,000 had entered the city for the protest. Chief Justice Chandrashekhar and Justice Arti Sathe warned that if the area is not cleared by the deadline, strict action would be taken.
Jarange’s lawyer, Satish Maneshinde, apologised to the court, stating, “We are sorry that because of some protesters there have been problems to the locals and officials.” He added that they had urged supporters through media channels to vacate and park vehicles in designated zones.
However, the bench remained firm and questioned both the protest organisers and the state government about their failure to control the situation. “You were given permission for 5,000 people. What did you do when you saw over 60,000 arriving?” the bench asked.
The court also pointed out the lack of police presence across the city.
“I didn’t see even one police patrol vehicle from the airport to my house,” remarked the Chief Justice, criticising the state’s response.
Mumbai Police had earlier in the day rejected an application by the agitators to extend their permission to continue the protest. The activists said they would challenge the decision during the court proceedings.
The High Court also directed authorities to collect and submit details of all vehicles that entered the city intending to join the protest. It stressed the importance of restoring normalcy in Mumbai and warned that failure to comply could result in contempt of court proceedings.
Advocate General Dr. Birendra Saraf appeared on behalf of the state government and was instructed to present the government’s response by 3 pm.
