New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled that authorities, in future, should not permit Shaheenbagh- type protests involving blocking of roads and public spaces and said such expressions of dissent should be organized at designated places without causing inconvience to the public at large.

Striking a balance between democratic right to protest and need to spare people the inconvience resulting from blockades, a bench of Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul, Aniruddha Bose and Krishna Murari said protests is constitutional right and emphasized that an issue being subjudice could not be a deterrent for an agitation on the same. The bench said pendency of petitions challenging the CAA before the SC would not take away the right of citizens to protest.

However, it also stressed that the blockade of public spaces and roads, which were the popular means of protests against colonial rulers, cannot be resorted to in a self- ruled democracy as the constitution, while conferring certain rights, has also obligated everyone to perform fundamental duties.

Democracy and dissent go hand in hand, but then demonstrations expressing dissent have to be in designated places alone. The present case was not even one of protests taking place in an undesignated area, but was blockade of a public way which caused gave inconvience to commuters.

We cannot accept the plea of the applicants that an indeterminable number of people can assemble whenever they to choose to protest, it said. Justice Kaul said in the Judgement such kind of occupation of public ways, whether at the site in question or anywhere else, for protests is not acceptable and the administration ought not take action to keep the areas clear of encroachment or obstructions.

We only hope that such a situation does not arise in future and protests are subject to the legal position as enunciated above, with some sympathy and dialogue, but are not permitted to get out of hand. Referring to the blockade of an arterial road near Shaheenbagh by anti-CAA protestors for months, the bench said while the hand of God in the nature of the Covid- 19 lead to dispersal of the protestors.

The authorities should act promptly in future. Quoting Pulitzer Prize winner Lippmann’s words, in a democracy, the opposition is not only tolerated as constitutional, but must be maintained because it is indispensable, the bench said it respects the right to peaceful protest of citizens against a legislation, but made it clear that public ways and public spaces cannot be occupied in such a manner and that too indefinitely.

The bench also said “We live in the age of technology and the internet where social movements around the world have swiftly integrated digital connectivity into their toolkit, be it for organizing, publicity or effective communication”.