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Plea on Shaheen Bagh road closure to be heard by SC a day before Delhi polls
New Delhi
New Delhi
A petition seeking directions to withdraw a road closure in the Kalindi Kunj -Shaheen Bagh stretch, which has been blocked since December 15, 2019 because of an anti-Citizenship( Amendment) Act protest, will be heard by the Supreme Court on Friday, a day before Delhi goes to the polls.
The plea by Amit Sahni, an advocate, will be heard by a bench of justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and KM Joseph.
Delhi assembly elections are scheduled for February 8. The ongoing protest at Shaheen Bagh has become a campaign issue for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), whose leaders have repeatedly invoked the difficulties caused by the protest and ascribed anti-national motives to the protestors.
Shaheen Bagh has become the epicentre of protests against the CAA, which seeks to fast-track the grant of Indian citizenship to so-called persecuted minorities from the Muslim-majority nations of Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan. Some object to the law because of its exclusionary nature. Others fear that it will be used in tandem with a nationwide National Register of Citizens (NRC). The government has clarified that there are no immediate plans for an NRC, although many of its leaders have said in the past that one is imminent.
Sahni said in his plea that the road closure at Shaheen Bagh caused great inconvenience to the public. This has led to the wastage of precious time, energy and fuel besides overburdening the Delhi-Noida-Direct Flyway, Akshardham and Ashram routes, he added.
The Kalindi Kunj road, Sahni argued, is a vital route since it connects three states -- Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana -- and the road closure has led to huge difficulties not only for the residents of the area but hundreds of thousands of commuters who are not able to use the road because of the blockade.
Sahni stated that while people had the right to protest, this is subject to reasonable restrictions and protestors cannot be allowed to occupy public roads indefinitely.
Sahni’s plea was rejected on January 14 by the Delhi high court, which stated that it was the responsibility of the police to maintain law and order and the court cannot issue directions to the police on how to handle an agitation, protest or traffic at the place of protest.
More than 140 petitions are pending in the Supreme Court challenging the validity of CAA.
“Right to protest is a fundamental right but it is not an absolute right. Right to protests must be reasonable. It must be clear to the protestors as to why they are protesting. The validity of CAA is pending consideration by the Supreme Court in more than 140 petitions. The Supreme Court will decide whether the CAA is unconstitutional or not. Tomorrow will people take to streets to protest against challenge to polygamy which is also pending before Supreme Court”, advocate and Bharartiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesperson Ashwini Upadhyay said.
AAP senior leader and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh blamed the BJP for the trouble being faced by commuters because of the road closure. “We have repeatedly said Amit Shah being the home minister can get the road opened in minutes. But he won’t do so because the BJP is thriving on the Shaheen Bagh issue in this election. The BJP has no real issue to talk about in this polls, that’s why they are not opening the road,” he said.
