The Kerala High Court has ordered that the government order requiring those taking out processions to pay a fee to the police shall be enforced after informing the organisers of the services they will be offered in lieu of the fee.
Justice Devan Ramachandran observed that normally, a fee can be fixed for any activity, including processions, only if some service is offered in return. The court passed the order on a writ petition filed by the All India Association for Protection of Civil Rights. According to it, the government had imposed fees for all processions, except for those taken out by government educational institutions, public libraries, and scientific organisations.
As per the government order a fee ranging from ₹2,000 to ₹10,000 has been stipulated for taking out processions. The court noted that the government order did not mention the services rendered by the police with respect to the processions.
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