In a significant observation on Shaheen Bagh, the Supreme Court on Monday said there “cannot be indefinite protests” and “agitations cannot continue like this on public places”.

The top court was hearing a plea on removing anti-CAA protesters from Delhi’s Shaheen Bagh.

“Protest has been going on for a long time. How can you block a public road,” Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul observed.

“You just cannot block the road. There cannot be an indefinite period of protest in public area. Then, everybody will protest everywhere”, added Kaul.

The apex court observed that protests cannot be carried out at the cost of citizens’ interest.

The apex court further issued notices to the Delhi Government, Centre and the city police and posted the matter for further hearing February 17.

Last Friday, the Supreme Court had said that it understands the nature of the problem of the road blockade caused by the protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in Shaheen Bagh but would hear the case only after the Delhi assembly election.

“We do understand that there is a problem,” the Supreme Court replied and said that it would take up the matter on February 10.

Adjourning the petition for Monday, the top court said it did not want to “influence” the Assembly Election in Delhi scheduled on Saturday.

Advocate Shashank Deo Sudhi had argued that the apex court should pass appropriate directions to the concerned authorities as far as the protestors in Shaheen Bagh is concerned.

The petitioner, according to a report in NDTV, argued that postponement meant the case would not be heard till after the election was complete, to which Justice SK Kaul humorously replied: “The cat is out of the bag… that is the exact reason we are adjourning the case”.

“That is exactly why we are saying ‘come on Monday’. Why should we influence it (the election)? We understand the problem and we have to see how to resolve it. We will take it up on Monday. We will be in a better position by then,” a two-judge bench consisting of Justices SK Kaul and KM Joseph said.

Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul had also observed that the court will be in a better position to hear it on Monday.

The Supreme Court had scheduled, for February 7, hearing on a petition seeking directions to the police to take action to ensure smooth traffic movement on the Kalindi Kunj-Shaheen Bagh stretch, which has been closed for over a month due to the CAA protests, making the public at large suffer.

The plea moved by lawyer-activist Amit Sahni on January 20 sought supervision of the situation in Shaheen Bagh where several women are sitting on an indefinite protest, by a retired Supreme Court judge or a sitting judge of the Delhi High Court to avoid any further deterioration in the situation and to circumvent any violence.

BJP leader Nand Kishor Garg had also sought a direction from the top court to the Centre, police and state government to take immediate steps to remove protesters from Shaheen Bagh who have been protesting for more than a month against the Citizenship Amendment Act by blocking the road connecting Delhi to Noida.

The Delhi High Court had earlier asked the police to examine the issue while bearing in mind that law and order is supposed to be maintained.