Can’t allow residential areas to become protest sites: Delhi HC on petition against sit-in outside CM Kejriwal’s house

The court said that it could set a wrong precedent, expressing alarm over the fact that the protest had been going on for 11 days now

Hearing a contempt plea against the protest outside chief minister Arvind Kejriwal’s residence, the Delhi high court on Thursday said it cannot allow a residential colony to become a designated site for protest, Ramlila Maidan or Jantar Mantar.

The Delhi high court. (File photo)

“There is no problem if you come, protest and then go away. But this is going on for 11 days. Once you set a precedent, anyone will come and squat there. If this is permitted for all times to come, then you know what is the state of certain areas, like Ramlila ground and Jantar Mantar, where squatting and protests are permitted? We cannot have that kind of situation in a residential colony,” the court said.

It also said that right to protest is a fundamental right under the Constitution but it should not go to such an extent where their (protesters’) right to protest gets hampered.

The plea was filed by the Civil Lines Residents Association against the protest outside Kejriwal’s residence on the grounds that it was blocking a road and causing inconvenience to the residents. The mayors of the three municipal corporations have been protesting outside Kejriwal’s residence seeking release of funds and clearance of alleged pending dues.

The association has contended that the protest has been permitted in a residential area and roads leading there have been barricaded in violation of the high court’s earlier order of 2017 restricting dharnas in residential areas.

The court observed that tents had come up in the area and there were news reports that the mayors were going to run their offices from there. The judge sought to know from the city police how offices could be run from there and also what arrangements were in place for the protesters to go about their daily routines.

It said, “Public functionaries deal with all kinds of people. Today, it is one group of people who are protesting, the staff is protesting...But once a precedent is set, tomorrow, there will be another group of people protesting there and then you will come running,” the court said.

The matter would be now heard on December 18.