Delhi HC dismisses plea seeking removal of CAA protestors, road blockages

The Delhi High Court on Friday (January 10) refused to entertain a plea seeking directions for removal of demonstrators protesting the CAA at Shaheen Bagh here in order to clear road blockages that are causing traffic congestions at the DND route.

The application, in the form of a handwritten letter, was mentioned before a bench of Chief Justice DN Patel and Justice C Hari Shankar which declined to give any relief.

The letter, written by Tushar Sehdev and Raman Kalra, said the route from Delhi to UP, Delhi to Uttarakhand, Delhi to Noida hospitals, Ashram and Badarpur is unavailable due to this protest as the roads around Shaheen Bagh are blocked and vehicles are being diverted to the DND flyway.

Lakhs of people are suffering because of the road closure and it is also an issue for people facing emergencies, the letter said.

The protest, that began on December 14, 2019, and entered its 27th day on Thursday, is affecting several lakh vehicles which are forced to avoid the route, the plea said.

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It claimed that protestors have put barricades and heavy stones on the sides of the roads and are not allowing even pedestrians to pass.

The protesters have also damaged road dividers and other public properties installed on the roads which is also causing loss to the government exchequer, it said.

The plea sought that these protests should be done at authorised protesting areas without damaging any properties and urged the court to pass directions for removal of the road blockage and make the passage clear for the public.

Thousands of people, including women and children, are protesting at Shaheen Bagh and nearby Jamia Millia Islamia to oppose the CAA and the NRC.