‘You’ve strangulated entire city, how can highways be perpetually blocked?’: SC’s grim stand on Farmers’ Protest
What is the point in continuing with the protest once it has moved the court challenging the farm laws, the apex court asked the farmers' body.
“You have strangulated the entire city and now you want to come inside and start protest here again,” replied a rattled Supreme Court on Friday to a farmers body’s plea seeking permission to stage a ‘Satyagrah’ at Jantar Mantar in Delhi.
The top court was hearing a petition filed by the Kisan Mahapanchayat – a body of farmers and agriculturists, and its president seeking directions to the concerned authorities to provide space to at least 200 farmers or protestors at the Jantar Mantar for organising a non-violent protest.
The Supreme Court questioned what the point was in continuing with the protest once it has moved the court challenging the farm laws. “Your issue is only that repeal those three laws. You have filed a writ petition before the high court. Once you have made up your mind and have approached the court and having done that, thereafter you cannot say that you will continue with the protest. What is the purpose of this?”, the bench asked.
Taking a grave stance, the bench further added, “What is this peaceful protest? You block trains, you block highways and then you say your protest is peaceful and without causing any harm to the public.”
The SC had on Thursday reiterated the same while taking into account the continued blockade of highways connecting the national capital to the neighbouring states by the protesting farmers while hearing a plea by a Noida resident alleging hardships to commuters due to the ongoing protests.
The SC stated that roads cannot be blocked perpetually. “Redressal can be through judicial form, agitation, or parliamentary debates. But how can highways be blocked and this happen perpetually? Where does it end?”, said Justice S K Kaul, heading a two-judge bench.
It strongly stated that citizens have equal rights to move freely and without fear and there has to be some “balanced approach”. The bench even asked the petitioners whether they take permission from the residents of the area and whether they are “happy” with their protest.
“Their properties are being damaged. Even the security personnel were obstructed during the protest and it has come in media reports that when defence personnel were travelling, they were stopped and heckled.”, the apex court said.
The bench also sought to know what the government was doing to get the roads open for traffic. “We have laid down a law but how to implement it is your business. The court has no means to implement it. It is the duty of the executive to implement it,” Justice Kaul said.
Meanwhile, the farmer’s body has alleged that the action of the Court is discriminatory. “Permission to protest has been granted to another farmer body while denying us the permission to organise a ‘Satyagrah’, which is the most non-violent, peaceful, and truthful form of protest perfected and practised by the father of the nation Mahatma Gandhi,” the plea has alleged. It has claimed that the action of concerned authorities in permitting similar protests at the same site is “unfair” and violative of the Right to Equality.
