Following yesterday's (October 15,2021) lynching of a Dalit man at the farmers' protest site at Singhu Border, an application has been filed with the Supreme Court seeking an urgent hearing of their writ petition seeking the removal of Farm Law protestors.
The plea filed by Swati Goel and Sanjeev Newar also requests that the Centre issue guidelines to the States and Union Territories prohibiting all types of protests in their respective states until the pandemic is over.
The application states, Said incidents are neither common, nor acceptable. A protest which in itself is illegal cannot be continued when it is witnessing anti humanitarian act. The said protests have seen many unforeseen and unacceptable things including the Tractor Rally on Republic Day, rape of a woman and its cover up at the site and murder of Lakhbir Singh on Dusshera.
The application, filed by Advocate Shashank Shekhar Jha, states that the right to free speech and expression cannot supersede the right to life, and that if the protest continues in this manner, the nation as a whole will suffer.
It mentions, Not only pandemic, but the anti-human activities happening in the name of protests including rape of a woman and killing and mutilating a Dalit man cannot be allowed to continue.
The petitioners have also stated that allowing such protests serves no purpose at a time when there is a ban on celebrating festivals, visiting temples, and attending school or college.
The application further stated, Protestors are not only putting their life at risk but of millions of people of India and such a prolonged agitation cannot be allowed especially during ongoing pandemic since prolonged protests on public places is not only a clear violation of Supreme Court rulings but is violating Right of Life of others who are directly or indirectly affected by the said protests."
According to the application, the matter was scheduled for hearing on May 10, 2021, but due to a crash in the Top Court's server, it was rescheduled for May 13, 2021, but it was not heard on that date because the court could not assemble.
It was then scheduled for May 31, 2021, but was rescheduled for July 12, 2021, without a hearing, according to the applicants.
The Supreme Court is currently hearing a writ petition filed by a Noida resident seeking relief from the blockade of the Delhi-NCR highway caused by farmers protesters (Monicca Agarwaal V. Union Of India & Anr). During the hearing of that petition, a bench led by Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul stated orally that road blockades cannot continue indefinitely and that resolving issues should be sought through judicial forums or Parliamentary debates rather than public protests.
The bench has served notice on the leaders of farmers' organisations in that case and scheduled a hearing for October 20, 2021.
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