An advocate has approached the Delhi High Court seeking strict enforcement of existing rules governing public protests and a uniform standard operating procedure (SOP) to prevent demonstrations from obstructing roads, disrupting traffic and affecting access to courts and commercial areas in the national capital. In a public interest litigation (PIL), advocate Rishabh Saxena has sought directions to the authorities to ensure that protests are conducted at designated venues in accordance with the law, while balancing the constitutional right to peaceful assembly with the public’s right to unobstructed movement. The plea seeks enforcement of the Supreme Court’s judgments in Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan v. Union of India and Amit Sahni v. Commissioner of Police, along with the Delhi Police Standing Order, which lays down conditions for holding demonstrations.

alternative protest venues
The petitioner has also sought a review of the existing rules to cover the alternative protest venues recently designated by the Delhi Police. He has argued that merely shifting protests from Jantar Mantar to other locations would not address the concerns unless clear rules and effective traffic-management arrangements are put in place. According to the petition, the petitioner encountered a gathering on or around the carriageway and central traffic island near the Mandi House roundabout on October 12 while travelling from Defence Colony to the Competent Authority at Barakhamba Road for professional work.

The petitioner has alleged
He has claimed that the traffic disruption delayed his journey by approximately two hours, causing him to reach his destination around 4 pm. Photographs submitted with the petition are stated to show vehicles, including taxis, auto-rickshaws, motorcycles and private cars, caught in slow-moving or halted traffic near the gathering. The petitioner has alleged that traffic personnel, barricades, diversion signs and an emergency corridor were not discernible in the photographs.

traffic arrangements were deployed
However, the plea acknowledges that the photographs alone cannot establish the duration of the disruption, the total number of vehicles affected or whether traffic arrangements were deployed elsewhere. The petition cites instances of demonstrations and prolonged sit-ins at Jantar Mantar over the past few years to contend that recurring protests can affect traffic movement and access to business districts, public institutions and other important locations in central Delh