In times of a pandemic, the right to protest is not confined to the right of protesters alone, but the overall interest of citizenry, said the Madras high court, imposing a blanket ban on all protests, including anti-CAA agitations, till Covid-19 subsides.
“Now we are more concerned with the present scenario wherein a pandemic has set in. Steps have been taken both by the central and state governments to control the spread of corona virus. Even this court has taken certain austerity measures. The issue now is not concerned with the right of protesters alone but the overall interest of the entire citizenry. Therefore, in the light of the larger interest, we are inclined to direct that there shall not be any protests/ processions/demonstrations till the threat abates,” said a division bench of Justice M M Sundresh and Justice Krishnan Ramaswamy, hearing a batch of pleas seeking to stall anti-CAA protests in the state.
If any such activity either goes on now or starts henceforth, the authorities shall take steps to stop it. The protests are not restricted to any single issue or group of persons and are made applicable to all, it added.
Advocate P C Saranya moved a PIL seeking action against Tamil Nadu Thowheed Jamath (TNTJ), which organised a ‘fill jails’ protest near the high court campus.
When the pleas came up for hearing on Friday, public prosecutor A Natarajan produced a copy of a March 19 health department circular and submitted that DGP was i n - structed to stop permissions for mass gatherings.