Can’t claim absolute right to protest: SC

New Delhi, September 21

Maintaining that people can’t claim an absolute right to protest, the Supreme Court on Monday reserved its order on petitions seeking certain guidelines to strike a balance between the right to protest and right to free movement and mobility.

A Bench led by Justice SK Kaul — which was seized of PILs filed by Amit Sahni, Shashank Deo Sushi and others against the anti-CAA protesters blocking roads at Shaheen Bagh in Delhi — said it would pass an order on the larger issue even as the protesters were removed by the police following the imposition of Covid-19 lockdown.

At the very outset, the Bench asked the petitioners: “Are you withdrawing it?” “No,” replied Sudhi. Sahni said the protest shouldn’t continue in future. “In the larger public interest, a decision may be taken,” he said, requesting the Bench to pass an elaborate order. — TNS