Bombay HC Quashes Externment: Protests No Grounds for Expulsion, Rules Judge

The Bombay High Court on Thursday set aside an externment order against Saeed Ahmed Abdul Wahid Choudhary, a 51-year-old functionary of the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI), ruling that the state cannot extern a citizen merely for organising protests against government decisions.

Choudhary, a resident of Chembur's Mahul Road, had been externed from Mumbai for one year in December last year. He spent nearly seven months living in a rented room in Mumbra with four colleagues before the high court quashed the order, allowing him to return home.

Justice Madhav Jamdar observed that the material on record only showed that Choudhary had organised protests and raised slogans against decisions of the Union government. Alleged offences under Section 188 of the Indian Penal Code, the court said, could not justify depriving a citizen of the fundamental right to move freely.

Choudhary, a Class VIII dropout who runs a transport and construction material supply business, became involved in local social work before joining the SDPI around 2015. He now serves as the party's Maharashtra general secretary and contested the 2024 Lok Sabha election from Mumbai South Central, finishing far behind the leading candidates.

According to the high court order, the cases relied upon by Mumbai Police while seeking his externment stemmed largely from protests organised by Choudhary as an SDPI office-bearer. The FIRs, registered between 2019 and 2024, were mostly under Section 188 of the Indian Penal Code for allegedly violating prohibitory orders after permission for demonstrations had been denied.

Choudhary said there are about five cases against him, all related to protests. “We raised slogans against government policies. There were no allegations of violence,” he said.

His first prolonged detention came during the anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) protests, when he was held under preventive provisions for around 10 days before being released.

His legal troubles deepened in 2025. During former BJP MP Kirit Somaiya’s 'Loudspeaker Free Mumbai' campaign in Chembur, Choudhary and other SDPI workers staged a protest. He was detained and later released after paying a fine. A few months later, he led another demonstration against alleged air pollution caused by cement godowns in residential parts of the Chembur-Govandi area, following which another case was registered.

In October 2025, Mumbai Police issued him a showcause notice under Section 56 of the Maharashtra Police Act proposing his externment. The notice alleged that his activities were causing, or were likely to cause, alarm, danger and harm to the public and property. On December 3, Choudhary and four other SDPI activists were externed from Mumbai for one year.

He challenged the order before the Divisional Commissioner, Konkan Division, but his appeal was dismissed in March this year. He then approached the Bombay High Court, where his lawyers argued that none of the cases against him involved violence or offences that justified invoking the extraordinary powers of externment.

The high court agreed, holding that there was no material to show his activities caused alarm, danger or harm to the public. The SDPI welcomed the verdict, stating that citizens are not slaves of the government and that the police must serve the Constitution, not political masters.