The Supreme Court on Monday observed that everyone has right to protest peacefully in a democratic setup but it should not cause inconvenience to the public. The Supreme Court was hearing a habeas corpus plea seeking the whereabouts of farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal, who was on hunger strike at Khanauri border and was removed on November 26.
#WATCH | Noida, Uttar Pradesh: Traffic congestion seen at Chilla Border as farmers from Uttar Pradesh are on a march towards Delhi starting today.
— ANI (@ANI) December 2, 2024
(Drone visuals; shot at 12:10 PM) pic.twitter.com/8DguXl6u9Z
Hearing the plea, A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan disposed the petition after noting that Dallewal has joined the farmers’s protest and even persuaded a fellow protester to end the hunger strike. However, as the protesting farmers are set to march to the national capital on Monday, the apex court advised Dallewal to persuade other protesters not to block main roads.
"In a democratic setup, you can engage in peaceful protests but do not cause inconvenience to people. You all know that the Khanauri border is a lifeline for Punjab. We are not commenting on whether the protest is right or wrong," the bench told Dallewal’s counsel, PTI reported.
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The bench observed Dallewal could persuade the protesters to organise peaceful protests without causing any inconvenience to people.
The national capital has been fortified in view of protesting farmers’ proposed ‘Delhi Chalo’ march on Monday. The farmers will start marching from Noida to the national capital demanding various guarantees from the Union government, including a legal guarantee for Minimum Support Price for crops.
Farmers have been camping at Shambhu and Khanauri border points since February after their march to Delhi was stopped by security forces. Besides MSP, the farmers are also demanding waiver of farm loans, pension for farmers and farm labourers, reinstatement of the Land Acquisition Act, 2013 and compensation to the kin of farmers who died during its 2021 agitation.
