The Supreme Court has said that it is not acceptable to use public places like Shaheen Bagh for protests, and protests cannot be held indefinitely at such locations.
The Supreme Court has said that it is not acceptable to use public places like Shaheen Bagh for protests, and protests cannot be held indefinitely at such locations. In many areas, including Delhi, Bengaluru, Lucknow, there are special places where people are allowed to stage protests. These sites are known as picket sites. This is the arrangement of India. Let's take a look at some other countries, where there are special rules regarding staging a protest.
This decision of the Supreme Court has come on a petition filed against the anti-CAA (Citizenship Amendment Act) protest. In December last year, protesters blocked a road at Shaheen Bagh in the capital. A bench headed by Justice SK Kaul said that public spaces could not be held indefinitely like Shaheen Bagh. The court also said that Delhi Police should have taken action to remove the protesters from Shaheen Bagh.
The Supreme Court's decision came in response to some petitions seeking directions on the right to protest, to which the Supreme Court court agreed that protesting is a constitutional right and should be respected. The Shaheen Bagh protests, which saw a group of people gather for a standing demonstration against the Citizenship Amendment Act for months, led to blocking a major route connecting Noida with Delhi. While "dissatisfaction and democracy go hand in hand," the Supreme Court said, the protests "cannot cause inconvenience to a large number of people and violate their rights."
What are the laws in other countries?
The US Constitution protects the right to peaceful protest, and restrictions can be placed on the time, place, and manner of protest (permits for which it is mandatory to be obtained in advance). In Britain, there is a provision to notify the police at least six days before the procession, and the government can end the protests to "prevent public disorder."
Portugal allows authorities to stop protests "when protesters seriously disrupt order, public peace, (or the free exercise of individual rights)," although no prior permission is required for peaceful protests. In Spain, it is not allowed to perform in a public place as directed by the Constitutional Court. Here, if someone disrupts traffic or damages public or private property, strict action is taken against it.
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