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Shaheen Bagh: Protest a Right but can’t block the public road says Supreme Court

As it is noticed that people are entitled to protest but it has to be done in an area identified for agitations and cannot be done on a public road or park

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday said that Shaheen Bagh protesters should come to a “reasonable solution” so that streets are no longer blocked.

The SC, while hearing a petition against Shaheen Bagh road blockade, said that the court isn’t saying that the residents can’t protest but the “question is where can they demonstrate”.

The top court asked senior lawyer Sanjay Hegde and advocate Sadhna Ramachandran to meet agitators and speak to them. The bench suggested Delhi Police may also offer them an alternative area to protest.

A few days back, the Supreme court had said that people cannot block public roads indefinitely and create inconvenience for others but declined to pass an interim direction on pleas for removal of anti-CAA agitators from Shaheen Bagh, the epicenter of demonstrations here for nearly two months.

As it is noticed that people are entitled to protest but it has to be done in an area identified for agitations and cannot be done on a public road or park. The apex court also took up the issue of an infant dying on returning home from Shaheen Bagh where his parents had taken him along

“How can a 4-month-old child be part of such protests?”, the court had questioned while warning two women lawyers for making “explosive submissions” that children participating in the agitation against the Citizenship Amended Act (CAA) are being called as ‘terrorist’, ‘gaddar’ (traitor), ‘Pakistani’, in school.

The supreme court was then hearing an appeal registered by advocate Amit Sahni, who had approached the high court seeking directions to the Delhi Police to ensure smooth traffic flow on the Kalindi Kunj-Shaheen Bagh stretch, which remains blocked by anti-CAA protesters since December 15.

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