Panaji, Sep 23 (IANS) Sri Rama Sene (SRS) chief Pramod Muthalik has approached the Panaji bench of the Bombay High Court seeking setting aside of a ban on his entry to Goa.

In a petition filed Wednesday, Muthalik said the orders given by both North and South Goa district collectorates in March this year, under section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), were in violation of the principle of natural justice as the officials did not hear him before passing their respective orders.

The petition, which is expected to come for hearing later this month, has also sought that both the orders be declared 'null and void'. Both collectors Mihir Vardhan (North Goa) and G.P. Naik (South Goa) have been made party to the petition.

The state government had banned the SRS chief from entering Goa following reports that he would visit the state to start a branch of the Hindu hardline group here.

Muthalik, who shot to infamy after his SRS attacked women in a Mangalore pub in January this year, had said subsequently that he wanted to curb the 'pub culture' in the tourist state.