Supreme Court: Dire Need to Frame Guidelines on Right to Protest

Imposing section 144 of the CrPC was an arbitrary restriction on the citizens’ fundamental right to protest.

The Supreme Court on Monday, 4 December, said 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 came as it issued notice to the Centre and the Delhi Police on a plea seeking to declare illegal the banning of all assemblies and protests in central Delhi and the New Delhi area.

A bench comprising Justices AK Sikri and Ashok Bhushan observed that it was important to frame a guideline in this regard so that neither the fundamental right to protest was violated, nor any inconvenience caused to the public.

The plea has 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, says section 144, virtually declared the entire Central Delhi as a prohibited area for holding any public meeting, dharna or peaceful protest. 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.

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

It also said that the cost of using Ramlila Maidan for protests is Rs 50,000 per day which would make protests at the site practically impossible for the common citizens.