The industry of Assam and Meghalaya has welcomed the Gauhati High Court’s decision to ban ‘bandhs’ and declare them as “illegal” and “unconstitutional” in the two states.
A division bench of the High Court, comprising chief justice J Chelameswar and Justice AC Upadhyay, passed a verdict yesterday banning ‘bandhs’ after hearing two separate public interest litigations (PILs), filed in Assam and Meghalaya. The High Court, which has jurisdiction over the seven north-eastern states, directed the Assam and Meghalaya governments to strictly implement the law laid down by the Supreme Court in the judgment passed in the case of CPI(M) vs Bharat Kumar and others by taking all necessary steps for preventing infringement of various fundamental rights of the citizens on account of various calls of ‘bandhs’ given by political parties and other organisations.
In a press statement, Federation of Industry and Commerce of North Eastern Region said, “We welcomes the court verdict and strongly feel that there should be some alternative mechanism available to the public to air their concerns in right earnest and highlight their point of view to the authorities at the helm of affairs.”
