Hundreds of anti-CAA protesters (mostly women and children) swept through Shaheen Bagh in South Delhi.
New Delhi:
The Supreme Court is set to deliver its verdict tomorrow on a batch of petitions against the citizenship law protests that swept through Shaheen Bagh in Delhi earlier this year, with the focus on balancing people’s right to protest against the nuisance. caused to other people.
In what could be a hugely influential ruling, the higher court will decide whether there may be “an indefinite period of protests in a common area (that) creates inconvenience for others,” or whether there need to be limitations on the duration and intensity of the protest. The court has already stated that there can be no “one-size-fits-all policy” as circumstances can “vary” from case to case.
A bench made up of judges SK Kaul, Aniruddha Bose and Krishna Murari had reserved its verdict at the last hearing on September 21. “We have to balance the right to protest and the blocking of roads. In a parliamentary democracy, protests can happen in parliament and on the roads. But on the roads, it has to be peaceful,” the bank of three said at the time. members.
Critics of the Shaheen Bagh protest, which had BJP leaders in their ranks, had accused the protesters, mostly women and children, of a conspiracy against the Narendra Modi government and claimed that they were disrupting trafficking and trafficking. normal life; In February, a man even opened fire at the site after a union minister chanted controversial slogans.
The following month, shortly before the nationwide coronavirus shutdown, protesters were acquitted citing concerns about social distancing. “Almighty God had intervened …” the high court said.
However, prior to that, several petitions were submitted calling for the Delhi police to be ordered to clear roads, by force if necessary, and for restrictions to be placed on protests leading to obstructions in public places.
“We understand there is a problem,” the court said in response to the pleas, adding: “Can you block a public road? You can’t block a public road and create inconvenience for others,” and suggested that the protests be moved a further. Alternative site that does not disturb traffic.
One of the protesters’ lawyers pointed out that the country’s citizens had a “right to protest” and claimed that any inconvenience caused was by design of “a political party.” However, Attorney General Tushar Mehta, who appeared at the center, said the right to protest was not absolute.
Hundreds of protesters, mainly women and children, camped at Shaheen Bagh in South Delhi for more than three months earlier this year to protest against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, the NRC (National Register of Citizens) and the NPR (National Popular Registry).
The protests, recognized by TIME magazine, which paid tribute to Bilkis, 82 years old. dadi, the face of the movement, as one of the 100 “most influential people of 2020”, led to the imposition of traffic restrictions in the area, including the closure of a key highway connecting Delhi and Noida.
The Shaheen Bagh protesters, like tens of thousands across the country at the time, were against the CAA, which the government says allows citizenship to non-Muslims from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan if they escaped religious persecution and entered in India before 2015.
With input from PTI
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