12 Kolkata: Calcutta High Court on Thursday granted permission for extending the sit-in demonstration by the Joint Platform of Doctors near the Dorina crossing at Esplanade for another five days till Dec 31. The doctors are staging the demonstration, demanding justice for the PGT doctor at RG Kar who was found raped and murdered on Aug 9.
Justice Prasenjit Biswas granted the permission to the agitating doctors, ruling out the state pleading that the agitation was causing traffic congestion in the area during the year-end festive season. "Nothing has come before this court so that the prayer for extension of the writ petitioners after Dec 26, 2024 cannot be acceded with," Justice Biswas observed in his order.
Justice Biswas noted that an email was sent to the police authorities by the writ petitioners on Dec 23 with a prayer for granting them permission to continue their protest programme. He noted that the police stood "rigid" and directed the petitioners to remove the temporary structure. The rejection by the police authorities prompted the petitioners to move the HC, seeking extension of the peaceful demonstration by another 10 days.
The court, while granting permission to the doctors to hold peaceful agitation at the same place for another five days, directed the administration to make arrangements so that no untoward incident happened while the sit-in demonstration continued round-the-clock from Dec 27 to Dec 31.
Justice Biswas reiterated the division bench order passed earlier and directed the petitioners to hold the demonstration with not more than 100 supporters.
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