Pune: MPSC aspirants on S M Joshi bridge told to vacate in 12 hours or face contempt plea

Legal action has begun against the MPSC aspirants' agitation on S M Joshi bridge in Pune. Orders have been issued to vacate the protest site immediately. A legal notice has been sent to Pramod Dattatraya Patil, the representative of the agitation, asking that S M Joshi bridge and the road be opened to traffic within the next 12 hours.

The notice clearly warns that if the agitation is not moved to another location within the stipulated time, a contempt of court petition will be filed in the Bombay High Court.

The notice has been sent under a writ petition filed to get the High Court's order of October 7, 2026 implemented. The petition was filed in the High Court on October 6, raising the issue that ordinary citizens and commuters suffer needless hardship because of agitations held without permission on public roads and bridges in Pune. The next hearing is on November 25. The court has already told the protesters to agitate peacefully and lawfully at some other place instead of blocking public spaces.

According to the information given in the notice, the Deputy Commissioner of Pune Police's Special Branch on October 7 refused permission for a sit-in protest at S M Joshi bridge and Lakdakat Chowk under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS). The administration had asked the protesters to vacate the site immediately. It had also assured them that a written application for alternative sites, such as the area around the Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar statue or the Pune District Collector's office, would be considered positively.

Serious allegations have been made in the notice. Despite permission being denied, a large number of people gathered on S M Joshi bridge and the surrounding roads, bringing traffic in the area to a complete halt. According to the notice, the protesters played loudspeakers at high volume until 2 am to 3 am, stopped and checked emergency-service ambulances, and also appealed for a Pune bandh and for the city's traffic to be blocked.

The main demands of the notice are therefore that S M Joshi bridge be vacated immediately, that the agitation be moved to another place after obtaining official permission, and that no obstruction be placed in the way of emergency vehicles such as ambulances. If action is not taken within the stipulated 12 hours, a contempt petition will be filed in the High Court. The notice also clarifies that the purpose of the action is not to show disrespect to the students' demands or to the agitation, but only to ensure compliance with the court's order.