Advocates:
['M/S R NEELAKANDAN', '', 'S MANORAJ', 'M/S S T S MURTHI AAG', '', 'TAKES NOTICE']

Reserved on : 08.08.2017

Delivered on : 11.08.2017

IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT MADRAS

DATED: 11.08.2017

CORAM

THE HON'BLE Mr. JUSTICE M.DURAISWAMY

W.P.No.19639 of 2017 and

W.M.P.Nos.21210 of 2017

Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK)

rep by R.Girirajan,

Legal Wing Secretary, Anna Arivalayam,

No.367 & 369, Anna Salai,

Teynampet, Chennai – 600 018.

... Petitioner

Vs.

1.Government of Tamil Nadu,

rep by Home Secretary,

Secretariat, Chennai – 9.

2.The Director General of Police,

Government of Tamil Nadu,

Kamarajar Salai, Chennai – 4.

3.The District Collector,

Salem District, Salem.

4.The Superintendent of Police,

Salem District, Salem.

... Respondents

Petition filed under Article 226 of The Constitution of

India praying to issue a writ of mandamus forbearing the

respondents and their subordinate officials or any other

officials tracing power under them from anyway and in any

manner preventing or interfering or interrupting the visit of

party's working President Mr.M.K.Stalin to anywhere in the

State of Tamil Nadu for the purpose of visiting the water

bodies under desilt process by the petitioner party's cadre.

For Petitioner

: Mr.R.Shanmugasundaram,

Senior Counsel

and Mr.N.R.Elango, Senior Counsel

for Mr.R.Neelakandan

For Respondents : Mr.S.T.S.Murthi,

Additional Advocate General

assisted by

Mr.E.Balamurugan,

Additional Government Pleader

https://hcservices.ecourts.gov.in/hcservices/

O R D E R

The petitioner, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, represented by

its Legal Wing Secretary, has filed the above Writ Petition to

issue a writ of mandamus forbearing the respondents and their

subordinate officials from in any manner preventing or

interfering or interrupting the visit of party's working

President Mr.M.K.Stalin to anywhere in the State of Tamil Nadu

for the purpose of visiting the water bodies under desilt

process by the petitioner party's cadre.

2.The brief case of the petitioner is as follows:

(i)According to the petitioner, due to the prevailing dry

weather in the State, it is imperative to desilt water-bodies

so that they are able to hold water through the rest of the

year. Since the State Government has not undertaken any

desilting of water-bodies in the State, the party's Working

President Mr.M.K.Stalin, Leader of the Opposition, Tamil Nadu

Legislative Assembly, requested the party cadres to desilt the

water-bodies like ponds, tanks, etc in the State, so that the

people may not face water scarcity and agriculture would not

be adversely affected.

(ii)According to the petitioner, as requested by the

Working President, in many places across the State, ponds and

tanks have been desilted by the party cadres. The petitioner

has also stated that the Working President is touring the

State to inspect the desilted ponds and tanks and to

appreciate the efforts of party cadres and has so far visited

Chennai, Kanchipuram, Thoothukudi and most recently,

Tiruvannamalai, where a pond has been desilted by the party

cadres. Fazed by the enormous support from the people of the

State for the party's desilting campaign, the State Government

and the Ruling Party have adopted various methods using

machinery of the State Government and the District

Administration to thwart the campaign.

(iii)When the Working President was tavelling to

Konganapuram, Edapadi Taluk, Salem District, via Coimbatore,

by car to Salem from Coimbatore to inspect the

Kacharayankuttai Tank near Konganapuram, which has been

recently desilted by the party cadres and to interact with the

public on various social issues, his car was stopped by the

police near Kaniyur Toll Plaza and he, along with other party

cadres were forcibly taken to a Marriage Hall and detained.

Later, an order, passed by the Assistant Commissioner of

Police, Salem City, denying permission for hold