Right to protest not absolute, says Supreme Court while hearing petitions on anti-CAA protests

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The right to protest is not absolute and there cannot be a "universal policy", the Supreme Court said on September 21 while hearing a bunch of petitions on the anti-CAA (Citizenship (Amendment) Act) protests, which led to the blockage of key roads in Shaheen Bagh in Delhi.

A Supreme Court bench comprising Justices SK Kaul, Aniruddha Bose and Krishna Murari also hinted at possible curbs to prevent situations like 'blocking of roads'.

"Right to protest is not absolute, but there is a right… In a parliamentary democracy, there is always an avenue of debate. Protests can be done peacefully," Justice Kaul said, as per the Economic Times report.

The court would address the need to balance the right to protests with the right of others to free access and movement, he added.

The petitions sought to highlight the inconvenience caused to commuters due to the anti-CAA protests that took place in Delhi last December. Taking note of the submissions of lawyers, the bench said, "We have to balance right to protest and the blocking of roads. We have to deal with the issue. There cannot be universal policy as the situation may vary on case to case basis.

"In a parliamentary democracy, protest can happen in Parliament and on roads but, on roads, it has to be peaceful,"it said.

Reserving the verdict, the bench said that it had appointed "interlocutors" as an experiment and they had suggested some measures which could be looked into.

Saying that the law enforcement machinery has been "held hostage to the whims and fancies of the protesters," the plea sought laying down guidelines for protests leading to obstruction of public place.

"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 (sic)," the plea said.

Protests against the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) snowballed into a pan-India movement in December 2019. Over a dozen local women had started a small protest against CAA, nationwide NRC and the National Population Register (NPR) in New Delhi’s Shaheen Bagh on January 15.

As days progressed, hundreds of locals joined in and the agitation turned into a 24x7, sit-in. The site was cleared by Delhi Police on March 24.

According to the CAA, members of Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian communities who have come from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan till December 31, 2014, and facing religious persecution there will not be treated as illegal immigrants and will be eligible for Indian citizenship. The law excludes Muslims.