Supreme Court on Shaheen Bagh, says public places cannot be occupied indefinitely

While pronouncing the verdict on a batch of petitions against the anti-citizenship law protests at Delhi’s Shaheen Bagh, the Supreme Court has said that public places cannot be occupied indefinitely. The court also added that dissent and democracy go hand in hand.

“We have to make it clear that public places cannot be occupied indefinitely whether in Shaheen Bagh (in Delhi) or elsewhere. These sort of protests are not acceptable, and the authorities should act,” said the Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court also added that the administration cannot wait for orders to clear protest sites when it is carried out in a public place. The top court even made it clear that protests can be held at designated places only.

The judgment was pronounced by a bench comprised of Justices SK Kaul, Aniruddha Bose, and Krishna Murari.

“We have to balance the right to protest and blocking of roads. In a parliamentary democracy, protests can happen in parliament and on roads. But on roads, it has to be peaceful,” the bench previously said on September 21.

Shaheen Bagh protests were organized as a part of anti-CAA protests. Protestors, mostly women and children sat on Shaheen Bagh for more than three months, and it came to an end after the lockdown measures were implemented due to the coronavirus outbreak.