Kerala HC Closes PIL Over Alleged Men’s Entry Ban At 'Freedom At Midnight' Event [Read Judgment]

Kochi: The Kerala High Court has closed a Public Interest Litigation petition apprehending that an event organised by the State's Women and Child Development Department would unlawfully restrict men from entering the venue, holding that the averments were based on unverified press reports and that the petitioner had approached the Court without first placing his grievance before the concerned authorities.

A Division Bench of Chief Justice Soumen Sen and Justice Syam Kumar V.M. was hearing a writ petition filed by Adarsh S R, a 29-year-old social activist and lawyer from Thiruvananthapuram, who alleged that the Department had announced an event christened 'Freedom at Midnight', scheduled to be held for three hours from 10.00 p.m. on August 14 to 1.00 a.m. on August 15, along a 3.5-kilometre stretch of M.G. Road between PMG Junction and Overbridge Junction, Thampanoor, Thiruvananthapuram.

The petitioner apprehended that men would be prohibited from entering the relevant precincts during the event, and contended that such a restriction would violate Article 14 of the Constitution as well as the right to move freely guaranteed under Article 19(1)(d). The Court noted that this averment rested solely on two unverified press reports, produced as Exhibits P1 and P2, without any corroboration from the State Department concerned.

The Bench observed that the petitioner had not approached the concerned authorities before invoking the writ jurisdiction, and reiterated that 

no writ of mandamus would lie unless the aggrieved person first approaches the public authority concerned with his grievance and the right to move this Court by invoking PIL would accrue only if there is a non consideration or rejection of such representation.

Appearing for the State, the learned Special Government Pleader, on instructions, submitted that the restriction on entry was confined to the conclave itself, which was a programme intended for women and children organised by the Department, and that the transportation and use of the relevant road by men was not intended to be impeded in any manner.

Recording the submission and finding that the averments in the writ petition were made without any basis and were devoid of reliable material, the Court held that a Public Interest Litigation ought not to be filed in such a slipshod manner and that such petitions were not maintainable. On that basis, the writ petition was closed.

Appearances:

For the Petitioner: Sri. R. Santhosh Mahadevan, Sri. C.R. Vijayakumaran Pillai, Smt. S. Santhy, Sri. Yayathi Vijayan, Sri. Mukesh Kumar Gandhi, Sri. Adwaith Suseel, Sri. R. Rahul Krishnan, and Sri. Gopakumar D., Advocates.

For the Respondents: Smt. Sreelatha Parameshwaran, Special Government Pleader.

Case Title: Adarsh S R v. State of Kerala and Another, WP(PIL) No. 171 of 2026

[Read Judgment]