Article 25 is not absolute, Bombay HC rules on Kavad Yatra route

The Bombay High Court has ruled that the right to practise religion under Article 25 is not absolute and must yield to law and order, public interest, and the needs of other sections of society. A division bench in Nagpur dismissed a petition challenging police restrictions on the route of a proposed Kavad Yatra through Mominpura, a minority-dominated area.

The court found that the organiser, Deepak Nechwani, has no fundamental right to insist on a particular road for a religious procession when authorities have cited public order, traffic, and safety concerns. Police had offered an alternative route but denied the proposed one citing narrow roads, heavy traffic, eight mosques and a dargah along the route, and past incidents of communal unrest in the area.

The bench noted that the petitioner failed to provide details on traffic management, sound systems, estimated turnout, volunteers, and crowd-control arrangements. "The exercise of right to practise one's religion is one thing and to practise it in a particular way is another," the court said, citing an Allahabad High Court precedent.