Supreme Court Declines to Stop CJP September 5 Protest March in Delhi

A bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justices Joymala Bagchi and V Mohana said there was no reason at present to presume that the proposed demonstration would result in any untoward incident.

“We will at least, as of now, presume everybody will behave in a peaceful manner. Right now there is no compelling circumstance to assume that any untoward thing will happen,” the CJI observed.

The bench issued notice to the Centre and Delhi Police and posted the next hearing for September 10, along with other matters concerning the student protests.

The proceedings followed a plea filed by retired Delhi Police officer Rajendra Singh, who sought directions to ensure that large-scale demonstrations and protest marches in sensitive areas of the national capital are held only after obtaining requisite police permissions.

Singh's counsel urged the apex court to hear the matter on September 3, citing the proposed September 5 march and the upcoming BRICS Summit in Delhi on September 12-13.

The counsel referred to the violence during the July 20 Sansad March announced by the CJP and cautioned that another incident could occur, even if it was not directly attributable to the organisers.

The CJI, however, said the court could not proceed on the assumption that something untoward would happen and reiterated that police authorities were competent to deal with any law-and-order situation.

“Before us, there is no identified group. You please impress upon the Union or NCT Delhi. It's for them to maintain law and order. They should act as per law,” the CJI said.

“They are expected to maintain law and order, and the enforcing agency has the responsibility to maintain law and order... We are expecting them to act within that framework. From both sides, we are expecting that they will respect, they will conduct themselves, and they will follow the law of the land...,” he added.

The CJP has announced the September 5 march in Delhi, alleging that the Centre failed to honour its commitment to withdraw cases against students who participated in the July protests over the alleged examination paper leak. The Supreme Court's decision leaves the responsibility for maintaining law and order during the proposed demonstration with the government and police authorities.