Shaheen Bagh protest: Supreme Court notice to Centre, Delhi Police, says protesters can’t block public road forever, takes suo motu cognizance of infant death

The Supreme Court on Monday, in view to the pleas seeking removal of anti-CAA protesters from the Shaheen Bagh-Kalindi Kunj road, issued notices to the Centre, the Delhi Government and the Delhi Police. Earlier on Thursday, the Court had deferred hearing pleas against the sit-in protest and blockage of the road stating it doesn’t want its decision to create any impact on the polls.

The Supreme Court bench comprising justices SK Kaul and KM Joseph said the protesters cannot block the road, leading to inconvenience for the commuters. The court said if people want to protest, they should sit at an appropriate place so that others won’t get affected or face any problem by it. How can they block the road and a public area?

The Supreme Court added that there should be some defined areas for protest.

The court made it clear that it won’t pass any judgment without hearing the other side and told a petitioner to wait for one more week. The court will now hear the matter on February 17. The people have been sitting on roads for over 58 days, let’s wait for one more week before coming to any conclusion or taking any action, said the court.

In his petition, advocate Amit Sahni told the court that traffic flow on the Kalindi Kunj-Shaheen Bagh stretch has been affected since December 15 and requested to give direction to the authorities to deal with the situation.

Reports said a 4-month old infant died at the Shaheen Bagh because his mother was sitting with him at the protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) on January 30. The protest includes newborns and children which is against their child rights and natural justice as its too cold and unfavorable condition outside.

Today, in cognizance of the death of an infant, the court asked how can a 4-month-old child be taking part in such protests?