Interim order on bandh still in force: court

The Supreme Court on Monday made it clear that its interim order passed in September 2007 restraining the DMK and some other political parties from organising a bandh in Tamil Nadu will continue to remain in force.



A Bench of Justice G.S. Singhvi and Justice A.K. Ganguly passed this order while disposing of the special leave petition filed by the AIADMK challenging the bandh, called for the implementation of Sethusamudram project, on October 1, 2007. On this petition, the AIADMK had filed a contempt petition against Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi, the State and others for violating the order, but the court dismissed it observing that no contempt was made out.

During the resumed hearing of the petition on Monday, counsel for AIADMK Subramonium Prasad submitted that the interim order restraining political parties from holding the bandh was still in force. Senior counsel for the State Altaf Ahmed said that nothing survived in the petition.

The Bench said that since the September 30, 2007 order was only an interim order, it would remain in force till the disposal of the main petition pending in the Madras High Court. In its petition the AIADMK had called for a declaration that the call given for a bandh and holding of a bandh in Tamil Nadu was violative of Articles 19 and 21 besides the Directive Principles of State Policy and the fundamental duties enshrined under the Constitution of India.