The Bombay High Court on Thursday quashed the externment of Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) state general secretary Saeed Ahmad Abdul Wahid Chaudhary, questioning how sloganeering against the government could justify such action.
During the hearing, Justice Madhav Jamdar sharply questioned the Mumbai police’s decision to extern Chaudhary, a former Lok Sabha candidate, from Mumbai and adjoining areas for one year. The judge specifically asked why slogans such as “BJP government murdabad” and “Amit Shah murdabad” had been treated as grounds for externment, Bar and Bench reported.
“How can such slogans become a ground for externment,” Justice Jamdar asked the government.
The court was examining an order that barred Chaudhary from entering the city and neighbouring areas for a year, as reported by HT earlier.
‘Washing Machine… horse trading’
The single-judge bench observed that democratic dissent could not be curbed through such measures and criticised the police for initiating proceedings against Chaudhary.
“Citizens cannot be made slaves of the central government. Police are not servants of the chief minister or the prime minister. They are public servants,” Justice Jamdar remarked.
The high court further questioned: “Are these cases registered against him because he is from some other party? Let him also switch sides and all such cases will go. Horse-trading is happening across the country.”
He further drew parallels with recent protests across the country. Referring to demonstrations over issues such as the NEET paper leak, the bench asked, “Will you pass such orders against them too?”
Justice Jamdar remarked that the petitioner could simply switch political sides to get the FIRs against him wiped clean through the government’s “washing machine”.
HC calls action ‘malified’
While setting aside the order, the court held that the action against Chaudhary was “malafide” and violated Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution.
“As per the article 14 and 21, not only do the citizens have the right to express their opinions but also the right to live with dignity,” the court observed.
The bench concluded that the externment order could not be sustained and struck it down.
What the case was about
Chaudhary approached the high court on March 27 this year, challenging an externment order issued last year on December 3.
According to his petition, a senior police inspector of the RCF police station had filed an externment proposal against him and others on October 20, 2025. Acting on the proposal, the deputy commissioner of police passed an order directing Chaudhary to leave Mumbai within two days and remain outside the city and adjoining areas for 12 months.
The proceedings against him stemmed from his involvement in organising morchas, dharnas and demonstrations against various policies of the Union government since 2019. These included protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and the Waqf (Amendment) Bill.
The externment order had alleged that Chaudhary engaged in strong anti-government sloganeering and cited multiple criminal cases registered against him in connection with those protests.
