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Supreme Court: Protests can’t continue to obstruct others

Farmers protest Tikri Border Law Insider

Kashish Jain

The Supreme Court recently called upon the farm leaders to reflect on whether their protests over three contentious agricultural laws should continue to obstruct the right to commute freely on public roads.

The Bench, which is headed by Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul has taken a grim view of the continuing road blockages by thousands of farmers who have camped out on Delhi’s borders with Haryana and Uttar Pradesh since last year.

These farmers have been protesting the farm laws and adding to the commuters’ travel times in the NCR.

The Bench stated,

“Just because you are not in sync with a particular policy that doesn’t mean that the others should suffer and you obstruct their way. You want to create a village; do it by all means, but don’t obstruct others.

The top court was hearing a petition made by a single mother who complained that it has been taking her two hours instead of the usual 20 minutes to travel from Noida to Delhi due to the blockages and protests.

The Court issued a notice to the Delhi Police stating they need “to ensure that the road area is kept clear so that the passage from one place to the other is not affected.”

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta has said that the priority has shifted due to the sudden surge of the Covid-19 cases and that the authorities have been doing their level best to ensure the removal of the blockades.

Mehta sought the adjournment of the hearing by 2 weeks owing to focus on COVID management, to which Justice Kaul has stated,

“We will give you time. But we should also tell you what our concern is. People may have a right (to protest) but what concerns us is the tendency to block roads which impacts a large section of the society.”