Terming the externment of a political activist for protesting against the Union government as unjustified, Justice Madhav Jamdar of the Bombay High Court on Thursday quashed the order, holding that merely participating in protests or raising slogans against the government cannot be grounds to remove a citizen from a locality, LiveLaw reported.
The court set aside the externment orders passed against Saeed Ahmad Abdul Wahid Chaudhary, general secretary of the Socialist Democratic Party of India (SDPI), who had organised morchas and dharnas opposing issues such as amendments to the citizenship law and the Gyanvapi mosque dispute.
ALSO READ : SC Quashes Essel Infra Insolvency Over Tribunals' Use of 'Fake AI-Generated Precedents'
The externment order, issued under the Maharashtra Police Act, was based on five FIRs registered against him, many of them linked to protest activities.
During the hearing, Justice Jamdar sharply questioned the action of the Mumbai Police, remarking that citizens cannot be treated as "slaves" of the government and have a constitutional right to protest and express dissent.
The judge also questioned why slogans critical of the ruling party or its leaders should invite such punitive action, adding that the police are public servants and not answerable to political leaders.
"What is this? All citizens are being made slaves of Indian Government... They cannot stage protests, they cannot agitate- what is all this? Now so many papers have been leaked. If people protest, you will slap cases... What is this? It is the right of the citizens to protest," LiveLaw quoted the judge as saying.
In his order, Justice Jamdar held that organising protests against government decisions cannot justify externment and described the action as mala fide.
ALSO READ : NSE Public Authority Under RTI Act, Says Delhi HC
He observed that penalising a citizen solely for opposing government policies infringes the fundamental rights guaranteed under Articles 19 and 21 of the Constitution, including freedom of speech and the right to live with dignity.
The court consequently quashed the externment orders issued by the Deputy Commissioner of Police in December 2025 and upheld by the Divisional Commissioner in March 2026, providing relief to the petitioner in the case titled Saeed Ahmad Abdul Wahid Chaudhary versus State of Maharashtra.
Essential Business Intelligence, Sharp Market Insights, Practical Personal Finance Advice, Daily Fuel, Gold and Silver Prices and Latest Stories — On NDTV Profit.
