Right to protest cannot be anytime, everywhere, says Supreme Court

The right to protest and express dissent comes with certain duties and cannot be held “anytime and everywhere”, the Supreme Court said

Shaheen Bagh protest against CAA and NRC 
Shaheen Bagh protest against CAA and NRC
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NH Web Desk

The right to protest and express dissent comes with certain duties and cannot be held "anytime and everywhere", the Supreme Court said, while dismissing a review petition on the anti-citizenship law protests held in Delhi's Shaheen Bagh in 2019.

Twelve activists had filed a review petition on the 2020 ruling of the Supreme Court terming the anti-citizenship law protests held at Shaheen Bagh to be illegal.

"The right to protest cannot be anytime and everywhere. There may be some spontaneous protests but in case of prolonged dissent or protest, there cannot be continued occupation of public place affecting rights of others," the three-judge bench of SC judges SK Kaul, Aniruddha Bose and Krishna Murari said. However, the review petition was decided on February 9, the order came on Friday night.

SC reiterated that public places cannot be occupied for protests and that public protests must be "in designated areas alone".

"Dissent and democracy go hand in hand," the apex court had observed in its October 2020 verdict, stressing that "protests like these are not acceptable".

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