NEW DELHI — The Delhi High Court on Friday refused to entertain a plea seeking directions for removal of demonstrators protesting the Citizenship Amendment Act at Shaheen Bagh in New Delhi 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.
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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 14 December, 2019 and entered its 27th day on Thursday.
The plea said that protestors had put barricades and heavy stones on the sides of the roads and are not allowing even pedestrians to pass.
The plea also said protesters 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 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.