NEW DELHI: Two months after NGT order banning all kind of protests at Jantar Mantar, the only venue in capital’s power centre allowed for people to assemble to express their grievances against the government, the Supreme Court on Monday agreed to examine whether peaceful march and protest could be permitted in central Delhi.

The PIL, filed by NGO ‘Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sanghatan’, alleged that citizens were not allowed to hold a public meeting, dharna or peaceful in Central Delhi due to the imposition of police order under Section 144 of Criminal Procedure Code, banning protests in the entire area. It said that Delhi police had been slapping the provision continuously after every two months, the maximum period for which the provision could be invoked at a time.

“In any democratic society, protesters play an important part in the civil, political, economic, social and cultural life. It is important to recognise the role that protesters have played historically in inspiring social change and improved protection of human rights. Delhi being the centre of power, aggrieved citizens from all over the country throng the city to get their voices hears. Imposing a blanket ban on all assemblies in Central/New Delhi area is illegal,” the petition, filed by NGO’s founder member and social activist Aruna Roy, said.

Advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for the petitioner, alleged that the NGT had recently even imposed a ban on holding protests near Jantar Mantar also, leaving the aggrieved citizens no place in Central Delhi to assemble to express their views against government policy.

“These repetitive orders of Delhi police are therefore an abuse of power. They are a clear attempt to curb the right of citizens to protest and to peaceful assembly. This right can be effectively exercised only when citizens are permitted to protest at a place from where their protest will actually be more visible, i.e. near the seat of power. With a ban on protest in the entire central Delhi area, and a further ban on protests at Jantar Mantar following NGT order, citizens are being pushed away from places where their protests had more visibility,” the petition said.

A bench of Justices A K Sikri and Ashok Bhushan initially showed reluctance in entertaining the PIL and suggested the petitioner to file an appeal against NGT order. It, however, agreed to adjudicate the issue after Bhushan alleged that the plea was not confined to allow people to hold a protest at Jantar Mantar only but also challenging decisions of Delhi police to invoke section 144 in central Delhi.

The court asked the additional solicitor general Tushar Mehta to take instruction from the Centre on how to maintain a balance between people’s right to hold a protest in the area and maintaining law and order. It asked the government to suggest on how to regulate peaceful protests and march to ensure that it did not cause inconvenience to a common person.

“The orders of the Delhi police are evidently an attack on the fundamental right to protest. A continuous imposition of these orders under section 144 of the CrPC is an arbitrary and unreasonable restriction on fundamental rights of citizens. The courts have interpreted the imposition of orders under this section only in situations of emergency, after an inquiry into the existence of reasons necessary for such prohibition and by stating the material facts for the imposition,” the petition said.