Karnataka High Court dismisses plea against PM Modi's roadshow in Bengaluru

The Karnataka High Court, on Friday, May 5, dismissed a plea filed against PM Narendra Modi’s roadshow, which is scheduled to be held on May 6 and May 7. The petition which was filed by Bengaluru based advocate NP Amrutesh was heard by a vacation bench consisting of Justice Krishna S Dixit and Justice Vijaykumar A Patil. The bench acknowledged that political rallies serve to educate and inform the public about the electoral process and their right to choose.

The bench emphasised that the Supreme Court, in the Lily Thomas vs. Union of India case, recognized the importance of this dissemination.

While hearing the case, the Court noted that elections in India are celebrated as festivals and that political rallies have been a part of the electoral process since the first general election in 1952.

The Court posed a question to Pratap Reddy IPS, the Commissioner of Police in Bengaluru, regarding the State's plan to manage the potentially elevated emotions during the roadshow. The Commissioner outlined various security measures, such as screening of visitors, barricading to prevent stampedes, and traffic diversions.He also gave assurance that no untoward incident will take place as they have enough personnel to handle the crowd.