SC: Occupying public spaces not acceptable

Occupying public places for protests is not acceptable and areas like Shaheen Bagh — which had seen prolonged anti-CAA demonstrations starting December last year — cannot be occupied “indefinitely”, the Supreme Court held on Wednesday. It said protests should be at a designated place and any occupation of roads by demonstrators, which cause inconvenience to people and violate their rights, is not permissible under law. The SC also said that authorities should not hide behind courts and act on their own in such situations.

NEW DELHI: Public spaces cannot be occupied indefinitely and demonstrations expressing dissent have to be in designated places alone, the Supreme Court said on Wednesday while concluding that occupation of public ways in the anti-CAA protests at Shaheen Bagh here was “not acceptable.”

Observing that democracy and dissent “go hand in hand,” the apex court said constitutional scheme comes with the right to protest and express dissent, but with an obligation towards certain duties.

A bench headed by Justice SK Kaul said erstwhile mode and manner of dissent against colonial rule cannot be equated with dissent in a selfruled democracy.

“However, while appreciating the existence of the right to peaceful protest against a legislation... we have to make it unequivocally clear that public ways and public spaces cannot be occupied in such a manner and that too indefinitely,” said the bench, also comprising Justices Aniruddha Bose and Krishna Murari.

The bench delivered its verdict on a plea by lawyer Amit Sahni against blockade of a road in Shaheen Bagh area by those protesting against Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), which aimed to provide Indian citizenship to persecuted minorities of Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. It said protest at Shaheen Bagh was a blockage of a public way which caused grave inconvenience to commuters.

“We have, thus, no hesitation in concluding that such kind of occupation of public ways, whether at the site in question or anywhere else for protests is not acceptable and the administration ought to take action to keep the areas clear of encroachments or obstructions,” it said.