The Supreme Court on Monday issued notice on a public interest petition contending that Jantar Mantar is no longer a suitable venue for protests due to issues relating to ingress and egress, and asked the Solicitor General Tushar Mehta to seek instructions from the Union Government on the issue.
At the same time, the court declined to entertain a plea seeking preventive directions in view of proposed protest marches in the national capital, observing that the police were best equipped to deal with law and order issues and that the Court could not speculate on future events.
The petitioner referred to media reports stating that the Delhi Auto Union had called for a march to Parliament and that Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Arvind Kejriwal had also announced a march towards the Prime Minister’s residence. The petitioner urged the Court to issue directions to ensure that a situation similar to that witnessed on July 20, when commuters allegedly faced severe inconvenience, was not repeated.
The Bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V Mohana, however, declined to issue any preventive directions, expressing confidence in the authorities’ ability to maintain law and order.
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“We can’t comment anything on it. They know how to handle this. If they mishandle, then the law will take its own course.”
The Court asked the petitioner to furnish a copy of the plea to the respondents but refrained from passing any interim directions, leaving it to the police authorities to deal with the situation in accordance with law.