?Peaceful protests allowed, but can’t block public spaces? Supreme Court slams Shaheen Bagh blockade; calls it ‘illegal’

The right to protest in public places is not absolute and public places cannot be occupied indefinitely for such protests, the Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday in a verdict on a plea over the Shaheen Bagh blockade.

‘There can be peaceful protests but public spaces cannot be blocked. It should not lead to inconvenience, the top court said in its verdict.

The court was hearing a bunch of petitions seeking directives from the court on right to protest at public spaces in light of the anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and National Register of Citizens (NRC).

“It is disappointing that the state machinery is muted and a silent spectator to hooliganism and vandalism of the protesters who are threatening the existential efficacy of the democracy and the rule of law and had already taken the law and order situation in their own hand,” the petition had said.

The petitioner, former BJP MLA Nand Kishore Garg said that the protests, though within the constitutional framework, blocked public spaces and cause inconvenience to the public at large. “Hence, it is urgently required that the public places must not be allowed to be abused and misused for ulterior and mala fide purposes such as staging a protest against the constitutional amendment in the heart of the capital city and thereby causing incalculable hardships and difficulties to the common people,” the plea stated.

“Democracy and dissent go hand in hand… (But) Occupying public places like Shaheen Bagh for protests is not acceptable… Authorities have to act on their own and cannot hide behind courts… Public places cannot be occupied indefinitely like during the Shaheen Bagh protests,” the Supreme Court said.

“Occupation of public places for protests is not acceptable. Authorities must ensure removal of occupation of public places,” the bench which also comprised justices Aniruddha Bose and Krishna Murari held.

Welcoming the verdict, Dr Nasir President Shaheen Bagh Market association said, “We welcome the SC verdict, around 200 shops were shut down and 2000 workers were jobless. All the shops are of branded items. We have faced a loss of crores.”