Shaheen Bagh protest: Court again asks Delhi Police to come up with solution for traffic mess due to road blockade

The Delhi High Court on Friday reiterated its Tuesday order directing the city police to look into the traffic situation in Shaheen Bagh, after a plea was filed

The Delhi High Court on Friday reiterated its Tuesday order directing the city police to look into the traffic situation in Shaheen Bagh, after a plea was filed seeking orders to lift the blockade of Road 13A, which connects Noida and Delhi. Since December 16, 2019, around 500 protesters have blocked the Delhi-Noida border at Shaheen Bagh near Kalindi Kunj to protest the new Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC) exercise. The protesters have set up a stage on the carriageway towards Noida from Sarita Vihar on the road, which has prompted the police to close all vehicular traffic towards Noida. Protesters have also blocked the opposite carriageway going to Delhi from Noida. The closure has led to spillover jams in Ashram and parts of Mathura Road, with other Noida-Delhi connections farther away, such as the Nizamuddin bridge, also being hit.

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Justice Navin Chawla, while disposing of the plea, asked the city police to consider the new plea as a representation and consider the plight of the students who have their schools and board examinations while making a decision.

The Delhi police on Friday also requested the protestors to clear the road. The city police tweeted from their official handle: “We appeal to agitators at Road No. 13A, Shaheen Bagh to understand the sufferings that the complete highway blockade is causing to residents of Delhi and NCR, Senior Citizens, emergency patients and school going children. The matter has also come up before the Hon’ble High Court.” (sic.)

On Tuesday morning, a bench of Chief Justice DN Patel and justice C Harishankar had rejected a petitioner’s request to order the lifting of the blockade of Road 13A, leaving it to the “wisdom of the police” to decide how to handle the agitation and traffic movement. The court had also said that the authorities shall look into the “grievances and will react in accordance with law, rules, regulations and government policies applicable”.