Need to Take Holistic View of People’s Right to Protest: SC

On 4 Dec last year, the apex court had said that proper guidelines should be framed on the issue of right to protest

File Photo: Students of Delhi University, JNU and Jamia during their protest march against the ABVP at Delhi University on 28 February. 

(Photo Courtesy: PTI)

The Supreme Court on Friday, 9 February, said it needs to take a holistic view of protecting the fundamental rights of citizens to protest, alongside protecting the environment and rights of commuters, while earmarking the space for agitations in Delhi.

The Centre on Friday, 9 February, sought time from the apex court saying deliberations are on to earmark a particular place in Delhi, where the citizens can exercise their right to protest.

A bench of justices AK Sikri and Ashok Bhushan granted two weeks time to the Centre to file a comprehensive reply after taking a holistic view of the situation and posted the matter for further hearing on 5 March.

The counsel appearing for the Centre said that deliberations are being held at the ministry level for arriving at a solution after taking a holistic view and earmark a space in Delhi, where citizens can stage their protest.

On 4 December last year, the apex court had said that proper guidelines should be framed on the issue of right to protest so as to ensure a balance between the fundamental right of the citizens to protest and the maintenance of law and order.

The apex court's observation had come as it issued notice to the Centre and the Delhi Police on a plea seeking to declare as illegal the banning of all assemblies and protests in central Delhi and the New Delhi area.

The plea had said that continuous imposition of prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) was an “arbitrary and unreasonable restriction” on the fundamental rights of citizens to hold peaceful protest.

The plea, filed by NGO Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sanghatan, had challenged the "repeated imposition" of orders by Delhi Police under Section 144 of the CrPC, saying it virtually declared the entire central Delhi as a prohibited area for holding any public meeting, dharna or peaceful protest.

The petition, filed through advocate Prashant Bhushan, has sought directions to formulate guidelines for holding public meetings, dharnas, peaceful demonstrations in parts of New Delhi.

"As per sub-section 4 of Section 144 CrPC, an order can be issued for a maximum period of two months. Therefore, the Delhi Police has adopted the tactic of issuing the same order repeatedly," the plea said.

It also sought to quash several orders passed by police from January to October last year by which the entire Central or New Delhi areas were declared prohibited areas.