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Farmers have right to protest, but cannot block roads: SC

The Supreme Court on Thursday said that farmers have the right to protest but roads cannot be blocked indefinitely. This came while hearing a plea against the blockade of roads between Delhi and Noida due to the farmers’ protests against the three farm laws. A Bench headed by Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul asked the farmers’ […]

The Supreme Court on Thursday said that farmers have the right to protest but roads cannot be blocked indefinitely. This came while hearing a plea against the blockade of roads between Delhi and Noida due to the farmers’ protests against the three farm laws. A Bench headed by Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul asked the farmers’ unions to file their response in two weeks on the petition seeking removal of protesting farmers from roads and posted the matter for hearing on 7 December. “You may have a right to agitate in any manner but roads should not be blocked,” Justice Kaul told farmers’ unions. Justice Kaul further said, “Ultimately some solution has to be found. I am not averse to their right to protest even when the legal challenge is pending, but roads cannot be blocked.”

The Bench said that the law is laid down and there is nothing more to be laid down. Senior advocate Dushyant Dave appearing for one of the farmers’ unions argued before the top court that roads are not blocked by farmers; a certain part of the roads are blocked because of the way Delhi police made arrangements.

“It suits them to allow a feeling that farmers have blocked the roads. I have travelled six times on the road. I think that better arrangements can be made by the Delhi police. They should have allowed us in Ramlila Maidan, but they stopped us and after that they allowed BJP to hold a rally in Ramlila Maidan,” Dave said.

“Why are they selective? People who had insulted the country by climbing on Red Fort have been given bail,” Dave told the Bench. The apex court recorded the statement of Dave that roads are blocked because of the manner of arranging security by the Delhi Police and also due to the prevention of the passage to Ramlila Maidan. “We may at the threshold point out that we are not concerned with any of the larger issues. Only that in view of the earlier orders of the court, roads are not continually occupied,” the Bench said.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta appearing for the Centre said that a committee was constituted by the government and farmers unions even refused to participate in the meetings. Agitation of farmers is for some other reasons, SG added. Earlier, the apex court had issued notice to 41 farmers’ organisations in an application seeking to make them parties before the top court in a PIL against the blockade of roads.

Noida resident Monicca Agarwaal filed the plea in the apex court and alleged that her travel to Delhi is taking two hours instead of the normal 20 minutes. She contended that despite the various directions passed by the apex court to keep the to and fro passage clear (the road), the same had still not happened. Being a single parent who has some medical issues, Agarwaal said that it has become a nightmare to travel to Delhi. The plea said she stayed and worked in Noida, but since she had a marketing job she had to travel frequently to Delhi.

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