People have the right to protest through legal means; However, it must not cause inconvenience to the Public: Supreme Court

New Delhi – All citizens in the country have the right to hold peaceful and lawful protests; however, they cannot come onto the streets and create inconvenience for the general public. Permission cannot be granted in the name of protests to disturb law and order or create an atmosphere of fear, Supreme Court’s Chief Justice Surya Kant said during the hearing related to the ongoing dispute over the naming of the Navi Mumbai International Airport.

It was claimed in the petition that criminal cases had been registered against youths protesting over the airport’s name. The Supreme Court refused to intervene in the matter. The Court observed that in a democratic system, people have the right to present their demands and raise their views before the appropriate forum. If the government does not respond immediately, people must continue raising their demands persistently. In a democratic system, the government and the concerned authorities eventually realise that a decision on a particular issue needs to be taken.