Assam police’s legal notice to 16 Opposition leaders to withdraw their joint call for the “sarbatmak hartal” on Tuesday to protest the implementation of the CAA or face action has been flagged in a petition filed in the Supreme Court seeking a stay on the contentious legislation.

The police notice, according to the petition filed by Debabrata Saikia — leader of the Opposition in the state Assembly — on Tuesday, was a “blatant attack” on the democratic rights of Opposition leaders and also a misinterpretation of judicial precedents.

Saikia, the Congress legislature party leader, told The Telegraph on Wednesday: “I flagged the police action in the petition seeking a stay on the CAA Rules, 2024, notified on Tuesday, because there was an attempt to thwart democracy.”

He added: “We had only called a hartal, which has been allowed by Kerala High Court ruling. We appealed for a hartal. It is our right to protest against the wrong policies of the government.”

Contending that the CAA was violative of the Constitution, Saikia’s petition stated that the country had witnessed heated protests after the new law was enacted in 2019, especially in Assam and Tripura, followed by “brutal persecution” of protesters including “foisting of false criminal cases” on them. Many such protesters are still “languishing” in jail.

The petition expresses “apprehension” that the implementation of the CAA following the notification of the rules on Tuesday “will result in a fresh onslaught on the fundamental right of freedom of speech of citizens of India and the muzzling of dissent”.

Saikia’s petition then draws attention to the legal notice served by DCP (Crime), Guwahati, upon 16 opposition leaders who are part of the United Opposition Forum, Assam, on Wednesday morning, directing them to withdraw their call of “sabartmak hartal” (strike) against the Rules or face legal action.

This police notice is a “blatant attack on the democratic rights of persons” belonging to the Opposition forum, including the petitioner (Saikia), the petition said.

“It is further submitted that the said (police) notice misinterprets judicial precedents,” the petition said, referring to rulings of the Kerala High Court case (Bharat Kumar K. Palicha vs State of Kerala, 1997) which distinguishes between a ‘bandh’ and a ‘hartal’.