Supreme Court Says Shaheen Bagh Protesters Can't Block Road & Create Inconvenience For People

The Supreme Court today said the anti-CAA protesters at Delhi's Shaheen Bagh cannot block public roads and create inconvenience for others.

The apex court has also issued notices to the Centre, Delhi government and the police on pleas seeking removal of protesters from Shaheen Bagh.

"There is a law and people have grievance against it. The matter is pending in court. Despite that some people are protesting. They are entitled to protest," a bench comprising justices S K Kaul and K M Joseph said.

"You cannot block the public roads. There cannot be an indefinite period of protest in such an area. If you want to protest, it has to be in an area identified for protest," the bench said.

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The apex court added that the protest at Shaheen Bagh has been going on for long but it cannot create inconvenience for others.

The bench said it would not pass any direction without hearing the other side and posted the matter for February 17.

Also, the Supreme Court has taken a suo moto cognizance of the death of the four-month-old baby at the protest site. The baby was a regular with her mother at Shaheen Bagh and fell sick due to harsh cold conditions. However, his mother continued to bring him to the protest site and he eventually died.

At the outset, advocate Amit Sahni, one of the petitioners in the case, said that the question in this matter is about the extent of right to protest.

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¡°Can a four-month-old be taking part in such protests,¡± the apex court asked.

"Is there anybody present from the government's side. We will issue notice," the bench said.

At the end of the hearing, when Sudhi insisted that some directions may be passed as people are facing inconvenience due to the blockade of public roads, the bench said, "If you have waited for over 50 days, wait for some more days."