PTI
New Delhi
The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked a traders’ body to make INDIA bloc parties respondents in its plea seeking to halt protests at Delhi’s Ramlila Maidan during the festive season affecting their businesses, saying such sites cannot be occupied for “all times to come”.
The top court also asked the Congress and its leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi to file their replies on a plea by a female journalist, alleging that the leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha had pushed her during a protest on the apex court premises.
The top court was hearing a litany of petitions, including the one filed by the traders and on issues of alleged mass detention, police brutalities, closure of Metro stations and internet shutdown during the recent protests in the capital.
A bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana asked senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, representing the Congress, Gandhi and Kharge, to file their replies to the petition by the female journalist.
At the outset, senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for Kirana Committee Delhi, submitted, “I represent all the trading associations in Delhi.”
“All shops remain closed, there’s nobody in Connaught Place today.
“If you don’t sell during the festive season, our sales are down. If you don’t sell during the festive season, our people are bleeding. My request is – they must look at some out of the box solutions.”
CJI Kant said, “You can’t occupy a protest site for all times to come. There are other protesters. Where will farmers, journalists, lawyers, etc, go? Where will the trade unions go? Where will the homeless go? Everyone has the right to protest. Designated time must be given for a designated period.”
Stressing the need to balance the right to protest with the right to trade and earn a livelihood, particularly for daily-wage workers, the bench said there are conflicting claims and both the right to protest and the right to trade and carry on business are constitutionally recognised rights.
“We are not talking about trade merely in terms of commercial establishments. We are talking about the source of livelihood of a daily-wage worker. Where does that person go for his daily bread?” CJI Kant said.
Rohatgi submitted that businesses have suffered losses running into thousands of crores and sought a two-month restriction on protests, especially during the festive season.
