'Speaking For Gaza Isn't Patriotism, Take Up Issues Of Our Own Country' : Bombay HC Rejects CPI(M) Plea For Protest On Palestine Issue

The Bombay High Court on Friday, while dismissing a petition filed by the Communist Party of India (Marxist) seeking to protest the "Genocide" in Gaza by Israel, asked the petitioner to "show patriotism for the citizens of our own country first."A division bench of Justices Ravindra Ghuge and Gautam Ankhad said India already has several issues to deal with, and the petitioner party should avoid taking up issues which do not affect the citizens of India. "Our country has several issues to deal with...We don't want anything like this. I am sorry to say, you are all short-sighted...You are looking at Gaza and Palestine... Why don't you do something for our own country... Be patriots... Speaking for Gaza and Palestine is not patriotism... Speak up for the causes in our own country... Practice what you preach..." Justice Ghuge remarked.Senior Advocate Mihir Desai for the CPI (Marxist), however, told the judges that his clients have been taking up several causes for India and have been conducting different health and education camps. The bench said it was curious to know why the party wants to protest the genocide in Gaza, which is thousands of miles away from India. "We are curious.. you have no issue with respect to our own country...something productive for our own country... They are fighting 1000s of miles away and you are showing concern for Palestine, Gaza etc. You can take up social issues and local issues like flooding, drainages getting blocked... Parking illegally... Why aren't you protesting such issues?" Justice Ghuge sought to know. Further, upon a query, Desai told the bench that their protest has nothing to do with India's border relations with any country and neither is it about "Operation Sindoor.""We want to just protest at the designated area in Azad Maidan. This petition is about our right to free speech and expression," Desai submitted.The bench, however, pointed out that recently, the Supreme Court has said that "right to free speech is being misused.""Where our own citizens or common man is not concerned why are you taking up that cause...Throwing garbage anywhere is not an issue ? Do we have so much time to spend hearing such a matter when we have hundreds of cases of our own citizens listed? Are these not our constitutional issues?" Justice Ghuge observed.The judges clarified that the present issue on which the petitioners seek to protest, should be best left to the country's foreign department or external affairs ministry, especially when the stance of the petitioners differs with the one by the Government of India. "Whether to take a side for Palestine or Israel is their (Govt of India) work, why do you want to create such a situation that the country has to take sides on this? You don't know the dust it could kick up.. It's obvious, going by the party you represent that you don't understand what this could do to the foreign affairs of the country," Justice Ghuge remarked. The bench noted from the record that the Mumbai Police had on June 17, 2025 rejected the application filed by All India Peace and Solidarity Foundation (AIPSF), which had applied for permission to stage a protest in Mumbai's Azad Maidan - a designated site for protests and rallies. The judges further noted that the petitioner before them i.e. CPI (Marxist) had not made any such application before the city police and instead in the petition only challenges the order of rejection of the AIPSF's application. On this ground, the bench held the present petition to be untenable and dismissed the same. Case : Communist Party of India (Marxist) through Shailendra Kamble vs State of Maharashtra | WP(Crl) 3798/2025

'Speaking For Gaza Isn't Patriotism, Take Up Issues Of Our Own Country' : Bombay HC Rejects CPI(M) Plea For Protest On Palestine Issue

Narsi Benwal

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