The Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled against the legality of the Shaheen Bagh protest, saying public spaces cannot be occupied indefinitely by protesters.
A bench, headed by Justice Sanjay K Kaul, held that occupation of public roads and public spaces in exercise of the right to protest is not permissible under the law.
“Public spaces and places can’t be occupied indefinitely whether in Shaheen Bagh or elsewhere,” said the judge, reading out the operative part of the judgment.
The bench added that notwithstanding right to protest is a right guaranteed under the Constitution, protests have to be in designated areas after due approvals from the authorities concerned.
The bench was delivering its judgment on a petition by advocate Amit Sahni, who alleged inaction on the part of the Delhi Police and administration in clearing the public road along the Shaheen Bagh area in Delhi.
Sahni pointed out the sheer inconvenience faced by lakhs of commuters because of blocking of the arterial road that connected Delhi with other cities in the National Capital Region (NCR).
The bench, in its judgment, also pulled up the Delhi Police for not doing anything even after the High Court asked it to act within its authority to clear the road.
It said that administration must keep public spaces free from obstructions and that they cannot wait either for an order from the court or go on having endless talks with the protesters.
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