SC to take up pleas seeking Centre's direction to remove anti-CAA protesters on Shaheen Bagh-Kalindi Kunj stretch

New Delhi: Supreme Court will on Monday hear petitions seeking directions to the Centre and others for removal of anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) protesters from Delhi’s Shaheen Bagh area. On 10 February, a two-judge bench, headed by Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and also comprising Justice KM Joseph issued notices to the Centre, the Delhi government and the police over the anti-Citizenship Amendment Act protests. [caption id=“attachment_7888591” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of the Supreme Court. AP[/caption] The court was hearing two petitions seeking clearance of Shaheen Bagh-Kalindi Kunj stretch where the protests, primarily led by women, are going on for nearly two months. During the hearing, Justice Kaul expressed discontent on the ongoing protest and said: “Protest has been going on for a long time, how can you block a public road?” The Shaheen Bagh area of Delhi had lately gained nationwide attention due to a continued sit-in by people, especially Muslim women against the CAA, National Population Register (NPR) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC). The PIL, filed by Nand Kishore Garg and Amit Sahni through their lawyer Shashank Deo Sudhi earlier last week, sought appropriate directions to the Centre, Delhi government and the police for removal of protestors from Shaheen Bagh near Kalindi Kunj. It stated that people in Shaheen Bagh are illegally protesting against the amended citizenship law by blocking the common and public road connecting Delhi to Noida. The petition seeks appropriate direction to the respondents, including the Union of India (UOI) for laying down detailed, comprehensive and exhaustive guidelines relating to outright restrictions for holding protest/agitation leading to obstruction of the public place.