Court trashes plea against Aurat March

KARACHI:

The top court of the province trashed a plea filed against the holding of Aurat March and imposed a fine of Rs25,000 on the petitioner for putting up a frivolous petition and wasting the court’s time.

The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Monday disposed of a petition requesting a ban on Aurat March after hearing the initial arguments.

The petition had challenged the legality of the march, which takes place on March 8, International Women’s Day. This year, the solidarity march is scheduled for March 12 in Karachi.

The petitioner argued that the slogans raised during past events of the Aurat March were against Pakistani society.

The court observed that no objectionable material was found in the slogans which were cited in the petition.

The court in its remarks said that the Constitution grants freedom of movement to all citizens and Aurat March as a peaceful demonstration was not violative of any laws.

After hearing initial arguments, the court disposed of the petition and imposed a fine of Rs25,000 on the petitioner. The court added that if the petitioner fails to pay the fine, her identity card may be blocked.