The Bombay High Court on Monday voiced serious concern over the ongoing Maratha quota agitation, noting that the protest at Azad Maidan had ceased to be peaceful and that activist Manoj Jarange and his supporters had breached the conditions under which they were allowed to assemble.

Earlier in the day, the court came down heavily on the protesters, ordering Jarange and his supporters to vacate Azad Maidan in south Mumbai by 3 pm or face “drastic action.”

A bench of Acting Chief Justice Shree Chandrashekhar and Justice Aarti Sathe cautioned that failure to comply would invite contempt proceedings and hefty fines, stressing that “full normalcy has to be restored to the city.” The judges warned that if the order was ignored, they would have no choice but to “get on the streets.”

The bench further observed that Jarange and his followers had no right to occupy Azad Maidan without official permission, calling the protest “an act of lawlessness.” The judges added, “This is a very serious situation. We are not satisfied with the state government too. There seems to be some lapse on the part of the government also.”

Declaring that the protest had crossed all limits, the court ruled, “They have to leave immediately or else we will take action. It is totally illegal. Post 3 pm, nobody will be let there in Azad Maidan.”

The judges also expressed outrage that on Monday, some agitators had surrounded the high court premises, obstructing movement and even compelling a judge to walk to court. “It cannot be that the high court was besieged and a judge had to walk to court,” the bench remarked, scheduling the matter for further hearing at 3 pm on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Jarange addressed a massive crowd of supporters in Mumbai on Tuesday, declaring, “We have won.” Speaking in the presence of Maharashtra ministers, he signalled that the government had shown readiness to act on key demands. “We will be leaving Mumbai by 9 pm today if the government issues the GRs,” he added, as quoted by PTI.

Jarange has been on an indefinite hunger strike at Azad Maidan since August 29, repeatedly asserting that he would not return unless the state government addressed the Maratha community’s demand for quota.