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Supreme Court to hear plea on Shaheen Bagh closure day before Delhi polls
The plea by Amit Sahni, an advocate, will be heard by a bench of justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and justice KM Joseph on February 7.
The Supreme Court will hear a petition seeking directions to withdraw the road closure on the Shaheen Bagh-Kalindi Kunj stretch, which has been shut since December 15, 2019, because of the protests over the citizenship act, a day before Delhi goes to polls.
The plea by Amit Sahni, an advocate, will be heard by a bench of justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and justice KM Joseph on February 7.
Delhi assembly elections are scheduled for February 8 and Shaheen Bagh has been a campaign subject, especially for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) whose leaders have repeatedly invoked the difficulties caused due to the protests and ascribed motives to the protesters.
“Your vote to BJP candidate will make Delhi and the country safe and prevent thousands of incidents like Shaheen Bagh,” Union home minister Amit Shah, who had led the onslaught, had said.
Three incidents of firing have been reported near Shaheen Bagh, the epicentre of the anti-citizenship act protests, accentuating the tensions in the lead up to the polls.
Delhi Police have claimed that one of the two people, who were apprehended, is a member of the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).
The protesters at Shaheen Bagh are opposing the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), which was passed on December 12, 2019. The act amends Section 2 of the Citizenship Act, 1955, which defines “illegal migrants” by adding a proviso to Section 2 (1)(b).
Under this, anyone belonging to the Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi or Christian communities from Afghanistan, Bangladesh or Pakistan, and who have been exempted by the central government under the Passport (Entry into India) Act, 1920, or the Foreigners Act, 1946, shall not be treated as “illegal migrant”.
Consequently, they shall be eligible to apply for citizenship by naturalisation, which is laid down under Section 6 of the 1955 act.
However, the Muslims have not found a place under the amendment.
The exclusion of Muslims has led to widespread protests across the country, as has the linking of citizenship with religion. There have also been protests against a proposed all-India National Register of Citizens (NRC) and the potential problems in the two working in combination.
Sahni in his plea has stated the road closure at Shaheen Bagh causes great inconvenience to people. The closure and the consequent traffic diversion have led to the wastage of precious time, energy and fuel besides overburdening the DND, Akshardham and Ashram routes.
The Kalindi Kunj road, Sahni argued, is a vital route since it connects three states—Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana—and the closure has led to huge difficulties not only for the residents of the area but lakh of commuters who have not been able to use the road due to the blockade.
Sahni stated that while people have the right to protest, the same is subject to reasonable restrictions and protestors cannot be allowed to occupy public roads indefinitely.
“No one can be permitted to occupy the public road for any reason whatsoever under the pretext of peaceful protest and that too for an indefinite period to make others suffer for the same,” he has said in his petition.
“The fundamental right of the protestors does not exist in isolation in a watertight compartment. One fundamental right of a person may have to coexist in harmony with the exercise of another fundamental right by others,” he added.
Sahni’s plea was rejected by the Delhi high court on January 14 which stated that it is the responsibility of the police to maintain law and order and court cannot issue directions to the police on how to handle agitation, protest or traffic at the place of protest.
More than 140 petitions are pending in the Supreme Court challenging the validity of CAA.
BJP spokesperson Ashwini Upadhyay said the right to protest is a fundamental right but not an absolute right and must be reasonable.
“It must be clear to the protesters as to why they are protesting... The Supreme Court will decide whether the CAA unconstitutional or not,” Upadhyay, who is also an advocate, said while speaking to HT.
“Tomorrow will people take to streets to protest against challenge to polygamy which is also pending before Supreme Court?” he asked.
The AAP is yet to comment.
