There can't be universal policy on right to protest: SC in anti-CAA blockade case

new delhi: There cannot be a "universal policy" on right to protest and possible curbs as also balancing it with acts like blocking of roads are needed because the situation may "vary" from case-to-case, the Supreme Court said on Monday.

The top court's observation came while reserving the verdict on a batch of pleas against the anti-CAA protests which had led to blocking of a road in Shaheen Bagh in the national capital last December. The situation normalized later due to COVID-19 pandemic fear and subsequent observance of protocol.

"There were some supervening circumstances which came into play and it was no one's hand. God almighty itself intervened," said a bench comprising Justices S K Kaul, Aniruddha Bose and Krishna Murari.

Taking note of the submissions of lawyers including Shashank Deo Sudhi, the bench said: "We have to balance right to protest and the blocking of roads. We have to deal with the issue. Their cannot be universal policy as the situation may vary on case to case basis.

"In parliamentary democracy protest can happen in Parliament and on roads but on road it has to be

peaceful".

Amit Sahni, one of the lawyers who had filed the plea in the case, said that this kind of protests should not have been allowed in the larger public interest.

Advocate Mehmood Pracha, appearing for an intervenor, said that there was a right to peaceful protest and "some people from a political party went and their created

riots".

"We have the right to protest. State machinery is not sacrosanct. Members of a political party went there with the police and created the situation," he said.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre, said that the Right to protest cannot be absolute and there are some judgements to this effect.

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