India, Sept. 2 -- The Bombay high court on Tuesday came down heavily on Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange and his supporters, saying they had violated the law by continuing their protest at Mumbai's Azad Maidan. The court directed the protestors to vacate the ground immediately.

Observing the situation as "very serious," the bench also pulled up the Maharashtra government, saying that there had been a lapse on its part in handling the protest. The court said law and order cannot be compromised and asked authorities to take urgent steps to restore normalcy.

The high court said the gathering of more than 50,000 people as "completely illegal" and directing that the city be cleared by 3 pm to restore normalcy, after observing that the ag...