‘Roads Cannot Be Occupied Indefinitely, Administration May Take Action,’ SC On Shaheen Bagh Hearing

The Supreme Court today said that ‘public places can't be occupied indefinitely’ during the hearing on the Shaheen Bagh case today.

File Photo: PTI.

New Delhi: The Supreme court has said that ‘public places can't be occupied indefinitely’ in the hearing of the Shaheen Bagh protest case today. The apex court also said that protests must be carried out in a designated area. Shaheen Bagh located in South Delhi saw widespread protests after the government passed the Citizenship (Amendment) Act started on December 14, 2019. During the protests which stretched on for months, the protestors had blocked a stretch of road.  Traffic was not allowed through the road and people had use different routes. In February this year, the Supreme Court intervened, and senior advocate Sanjay Hegde and advocate Sadhana Ramachandran talked with the protestors. The road was then opened to traffic but the protest continued Shaheen Bagh had become a symbol of anti-CAA protest and was replicated in some other parts. Last month, during the hearing of pleas against Shaheen Bagh the apex court, had said that the 'Right to Protest of one section has to be in balance with others' Right to Mobility on a public road'. A report by IANS said that a bench comprising Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul, Krishna Murari, and Aniruddha Bose took up the case after almost seven months. The court also said that people can't claim the absolute right to hold protest but said that people have the right to hold peaceful protests, and this shouldn't cause inconvenience to the general public. Shaheen Bagh had become a symbol of anti-CAA protest and was replicated in some other parts. Recently, 82-year-old Bilkis Bano Daadi who had become the face of the Shaheen Bagh protest was included in the list of the most influential 100 people of 2020 by Time magazine.