Supreme Court Says Protest Sites Cannot Be Occupied Indefinitely, Seeks Responses From Centre
The Supreme Court on Tuesday stated that there is no scope of taking away any protest site without any time limit, even for protest and demonstrations, urging that there should be a time limit even in the case of designated protest sites.
The comments were made at a hearing on the large protest that was held at the Jantar Mantar in Delhi last month and at a demonstration organised by the Opposition at Ramlila Maidan against the Election Commission of India (ECI) recently.
In an interview, Chief Justice of India Surya Kant stated that everybody has the right to protest, but no group has the right to take over the public space for an indefinite period.
“You cannot occupy a site for all times to come. There are other protesters also. Where will farmers or lawyers go? Everyone has a right to protest,” the Chief Justice observed.
Supreme Court Seeks Responses From Centre
The bench, which has Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana, was listening to a cluster of petitions, one of which was filed by trader organisations to limit protests during the festival season.
The Centre and other parties were sought response by the court in the plea.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told the bench that those planning for protests are as responsible for the consequences of what they do.
Mehta said that he had been given “one day” permission for a demonstration that was held on July 20. But protesters were still reportedly occupying the location and heading towards Parliament.
He said that the Parliament and the Supreme Court could not be handled like any other political building or that protesters cannot march to these institutions.
Jantar Mantar No Longer a Designated protest site
The government has taken the step to cancel Jantar Mantar as a designated protest spot and has finally fixed three alternative protest spots, including Ramlila Maidan, for protest.
The court was also reviewing petitions filed over alleged mass arrests, police brutality, shutting down metro stations and internet shutdown during protests.
The bench requested that the political parties which were involved in the anti-Chief Election Commissioner protest be made the petitioners in the petition filed by the traders organisations for loss of business.
Traders Flag Business Disruption
Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi representing the traders told the court that about 50 lakh people were residing in the vicinity of the protest area and businesses were hit by a lot of disruption.
He stated that the demonstrations saw shops kept closed and Connaught Place deserted.
The court stated that the issues the traders have raised could not be addressed in absence of the organisations behind the protests.
Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) Secretary General and MP Praveen Khandelwal welcomed the observations made by the court. He stated that they emphasized the importance of striking a balance between the right to peaceful protest and citizens’ right to operate their business and make a living.
The backstory on the Voter Roll Revision plea
The hearing also follows a separate court action to challenge irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral registers.
The Supreme Court had asked the Election Commission and others to respond to a petition by Congress MP Rahul Gandhi and 12 Opposition leaders about alleged large scale deletions and irregularities in voter revision on October 15.