SC Defers Connaught Place Park Closure Plea Amid Protest Row
Court hopes restraint will prevail amid CJP protest row, while flagging the potential impact on small traders’ livelihoods.
- Supreme Court declines urgent hearing on park closure
- Bench flags impact on small traders’ livelihoods
- Court may intervene if business losses occur
- CJP protest follows custody of two party leaders
GG News Bureau
New Delhi, 16th Oct: The Supreme Court on Friday declined an urgent hearing on a plea challenging the New Delhi Municipal Council’s (NDMC) decision to close Central Park in Connaught Place ahead of a planned protest by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP).
A bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi expressed concern over the impact of the closure on small shopkeepers and their families. Hoping that “better sense will prevail on everyone”, the court noted that traders depend on business during such periods to earn their livelihood.
Justice Bagchi observed that the issues surrounding the protest, the right to demonstrate, the sale of peanuts and public order were interconnected. He said the court could exercise its constitutional powers if the restrictions resulted in business losses.
During the hearing, the petitioner’s lawyer argued that the NDMC had issued directions late Thursday night to shut Central Park, effectively preventing traders from conducting business. The bench indicated that it could intervene if the restrictions were found to be disproportionate and said the plea might be listed on October 26 or 27.
The closure followed a call by CJP leader Abhijeet Dipke asking supporters to gather at Central Park with the national flag on Friday. He alleged that party members Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka had been jailed for unfurling the Tricolour.
Das and Ranka were sent to five-day judicial custody and lodged in Tihar Jail over allegations that they violated their peace bonds and trespassed into Jantar Mantar, which has been denotified as a protest site.
