Delhi: Row after no nod for Palm Sunday event

New Delhi: The Delhi Police on Sunday denied permission for a Palm Sunday procession between the St Mary’s Church in Old Delhi and the Sacred Heart Cathedral near Gole Market, leading to sharp reaction from Catholic groups as well as political parties, who termed the decision “unfair” and “shocking”.

The “Way of the Cross” procession was expected to be held between 2.30pm and 6.30pm on Sunday. According to the Catholic Association of Archdiocese of Delhi (CAAD) — a registered body of the archdiocese — the procession was to be led by the Delhi archbishop Rev Anil JT Couto, along with 500 devotees and floats.

However, the Delhi Police denied permission for the procession, citing law and order and traffic concerns.

“This procession by CAAD started 2-3 years back, and each year we did not allow them [permission]. This is not something new. This [CAAD procession] would involve three [police] districts and lead to a number of issues. Also, we have only officially denied them permission. They can still go out and celebrate. Only the long procession from north and central Delhi to New Delhi is not allowed,” a Delhi Police spokesperson said.

CAAD denied that the procession started so recently, claiming that the march has been conducted since at least 2013.

“On March 10, Rev Fr Vincent D’Souza, the vicar general in Delhi Catholic Archdiocese, had written to the Delhi Police commissioner seeking permission for the Way of The Cross procession… Police informed us last night at 9pm that they will not grant permission... The procession has been taking place since 2013. Last year the police had denied permission as IPC section 144 was imposed in the area under peculiar circumstances. Now there is no problem, and it is still not being allowed,” CAAD president AC Michael said.

HT has seen a copy of the letter to the commissioner.

Michael also said that the reasons cited by police — law and order, and traffic concerns — are “difficult to accept” for a Sunday as “other communities and political groups are routinely granted permissions” even during “peak hours on working days”.

The denial of permission for the procession also led to a political row. Congress general secretary (organisation), KC Venugopal, wrote to Union home minister Amit Shah, saying, “Are Christians in Delhi excluded from Article 25 of the Constitution that guarantees freedom of religion? Since when did practising faith become a threat?”

The Communist Party of India (Marxist) in a statement said they “strongly condemn the denial of permission by the Delhi Police to conduct the annual Way of the Cross procession”.

HT reached out to the Bharatiya Janata Party, but it did not comment on the matter.