JUDGMENT

RANGANATH MISRA, J.:—The petitioner in Writ Petition No. 6890/82, a monk of the Ananda Marga and currently General Secretary, Public Relations Department of the Ananda Marga Pracharak Sangh, has filed this petition under Article 32 of the Constitution for a direction to the Commissioner of Police, Calcutta and the State of West Bengal to allow processions to be carried in the public streets and meetings to be held in public places by the followers of the Ananda Marga cult accompanied by the performance of Tandava dance within the State of West Bengal. There are two connected writ petitions being Writ Petition Nos. 7204/82 and 3491/83 by the Diocese Secretary of West Bengal Region and another follower of Ananda Marga. All these petitions raise this common question and have been heard at a time. For convenience the petition by the General Secretary, Public Relations Department of the Ananda Marga Pracharak Sangh has been treated as the main petition and references in the judgment have been confined to it.

2. In the original petition certain factual assertions have been made and after counter affidavits were filed several further affidavits have been placed before the Court on