In an interim ruling, the Karnataka High Court (Dharwad Bench) has stayed the operation of the State Government’s Government Order dated 18 October 2025, which prohibited gatherings of more than 10 people in public places without prior permission. The Court held that the order prima facie violated fundamental rights enshrined in the Constitution of India, specifically freedoms under Articles 19(1)(a) and 19(1)(b), and ran contrary to Article 13(2) prohibiting abridgment of fundamental rights by executive orders.
Petitioners challenged the government order on several grounds, including that it labeled any gathering of more than 10 persons on public property such as parks, playgrounds, roads, water bodies, or other government-owned immovable property as unlawful assembly under the Bharatiya Nyaya Samhita (BNS), 2023. The order prescribed stringent penal consequences without legislative sanction, effectively curtailing the right to peaceful assembly. The petitioners sought a quashing of the order and restraint on its enforcement.
The matter has a political backdrop involving recent efforts by the Karnataka government to regulate public gatherings, widely perceived as targeting organizations such as the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). The dispute highlights tensions between governmental regulatory prerogatives and fundamental rights under Articles 19(1)(a) and 19(1)(b) covering freedom of speech and assembly.
The Bench comprising Justice M Nagaprasanna examined the scope of Article 13(2) and reiterated that government orders must not exceed constitutional limits or conflict with established central statutes. The Court observed that fundamental rights cannot be curtailed by administrative orders and that the impugned order intruded into the field already legislated by the Karnataka Police Act, 1963.
Consequently, the Court stayed all proceedings under the order and restrained the Karnataka government and authorities from giving effect to the order until the next hearing scheduled for 17 November 2025.
