Plea in top court over Shaheen Bagh blockade

Tribune News Service

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New Delhi, January 20

As Delhi’s Kalindi Kunj-Shaheen Bagh stretch continues to be blocked by anti-Citizenship (Amendment) Act protesters, a lawyer has moved the Supreme Court challenging the Delhi High Court’s verdict that didn’t order forthwith removal of traffic restrictions.

Several men, women and children are sitting on an indefinite protest at Shaheen Bagh against the CAA for more than a month, disrupting traffic on Kalindi Kunj-Shaheen Bagh stretch, a major road link between South Delhi and Noida.

“No one can be permitted to occupy a public road for any reason whatsoever under pretext of peaceful protest and that too for indefinite period to make others suffer for the same. The protests at public road cannot be permitted to continue as the same would sets a wrong precedent and the same has inspired Shaheen Bagh-style protests in Prayagraj, Gaya, Nagpur, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Lucknow and Kota,” petitioner Amit Sahni submitted.

Sahni, who challenged the January 14 order of the high court, demanded that the situation be supervised by a retired Supreme Court judge or a sitting judge of the Delhi High Court to pre-empt any violence.

Noting that businessmen had been suffering huge losses as shops in the vicinity of the protest site were “compelled” to remain closed due to the protests, the petitioner said allowing it to continue further would set a wrong precedent.

“The protestors have been using loudspeakers, as per reports, thus ‘unrestricted holding of public meetings’, processions, demonstrations, etc. has caused obstruction to traffic and disturbance of public tranquility. It is not known that for how long this road would remain closed and no protestors can occupy the road indefinitely,” the petition said.