Mumbai, Sep 23: The Bombay High Court on Friday permitted the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena to hold its annual Dussehra rally at the iconic Shivaji Park ground in central Mumbai on October 5.

A division bench of Justices R D Dhanuka and Kamal Khata allowed the petition filed by the Thackeray-led Sena faction and its secretary Anil Desai challenging the Mumbai civic body's order refusing them permission.

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation's (BMC) order was a "clear abuse of process of law and bonafide," said the court.

The bench allowed the Thackeray-led party to use the ground from October 2 to October 6 while asking it to maintain law and order.

The BMC had on September 21 said it was refusing permission as a similar application had been filed by MLA Sada Sarvankar of the rival Sena faction led by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, and if permission was granted to one faction, it would lead to law and order problems as apprehended by local police.

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Mumbai (PTI): The initial report submitted by the microbiology department of a Mumbai-based state-run hospital has said no "bacterial infection" was detected in the bodies of four family members, who died after consuming watermelon recently, officials said on Wednesday.

The Dokadia family, residents of Ghari Mohalla on Ismail Kurte Road, had hosted a get-together of relatives on the night of April 25. At around 1 am (on April 26), hours after the guests had left, Abdullah Dokadia (40), his wife Nasreen (35), and daughters Ayesha (16) and Zaineb (13) ate pieces of a watermelon.

They suffered severe bouts of vomiting and diarrhoea in the early hours of April 26 and were rushed to a local hospital before being referred to the government-run J J Hospital where all four died during treatment.

After the incident, Mumbai police, forensic experts and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) officials visited the house and had collected samples of every food item that constituted the family's last meal, including 'chicken pulav', watermelon, water, and other foodstuffs, and sent them to the Forensic Science Laboratory for analysis.

After the post-mortem of the deceased, their viscera was preserved for chemical analysis.

As the probe is underway, the microbiology department of the state-run J J Hospital has submitted its initial report to the police.

"As per the report, no bacterial infection has been detected so far in the bodies of the victims. No bacteria was found in their blood," the official said.

The exact cause of the death will be known once the forensic science lab submits its report, he said.

"The report will also clarify whether any food items consumed by the family members during the day contained anything poisonous," the official said.