Protesters had “ruined” the city during Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange’s hunger strike last year and left without clearing the mess, the Bombay High Court (HC) observed while hearing a plea seeking permission for another reservation protest at Azad Maidan.

A division bench of Justices Ravindra Ghuge and Abhay Mantri made the remarks on Monday while considering a request for permission to hold a one-day protest by the Dhangar community seeking reservation, news agency PTI reported. The petition was filed by Deepak Borhade after the police denied permission to use the ground.