Dealing with violent civil protests in India KRITI M. SHAH

the police are regularly confronted with large-scale protests, riots and incidents of mass civil disorder. In such events of unrest, protesters may react in a violent way against police and security forces, property, or other civilians.

where the police have used  have used lathis or batons, water cannons and teargas to disperse an unlawful assembly, but in  a manner that is excessive or harsh.

the government should re-examine the methods and tactics used by the police when dealing with civil unrest... A political decision in Delhi can trigger a reaction in a part of the country, which in turn can cause another reaction somewhere else. Social media and instant messaging have made it possible for information (and misinformation) to spread like wildfire, causing havoc for civilians and posing problems for law enforcement officials.

Adding more complexity is the politicisation of the Indian police forces. Local police often have their own political biases and affiliations which interfere in their ability to monitor and control civil unrest. T

he list of equipment and weapons for crowd control recommended by the BPR&D include water cannons, teargas shells, stinger and dye-marker grenades, tasers and lasers, net guns, and stink bombs.[19] All of these are described as “non-lethal” weapons that are effective in crowd control. Interestingly, the list also includes ‘plastic bullets for mob dispersal’. On the use of plastic bullets, the BPR&D SOP report states that plastic bullets have “not yet been field tested. The .303 version was tested in Kerala and not found to be capable of dispersing a mob. I

Right to protest a fundamental right | Legal Essays for Judiciary and Law Exams https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x8gwvckwq5w   
Dec 14, 2020

Firing At Jamia Anti-CAA Rally: Hate Speeches Incited Violence? | India First  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PmjeAAYIfEo Jan 30, 2020

Why civil protests must necessarily disrupt the status quo   by Vineet Bhalla October 7, 2021

in terms of narrative building, not only do such statements by the Court seemingly ignore the fact that the road blockades are actually put in place by the police (be it in the context of the Shaheen Bagh protests or the farmers’ protests around Delhi borders), but they also cast civil protestors in a negative light, as obstructors or disruptors occupying public ways; a problem to be cleared by the administration, instead of as citizens with legitimate grievances against the State that are exercising their fundamental right to air those to the State and other citizens.

what makes ordinary citizens organize and participate in civil protests for weeks and months on end, and what is the objective of such protests?

If someone legitimately believes that their way of life is under threat due to a government policy, can they be expected to engage meekly and politely with the State, and abide by the rules of the institutions that have failed them? If the farmers obediently shift their demonstrations to a remote spot allocated by the government, without disrupting the status quo, then they will get no attention, either from the State, the media, or the public. Their demands will likely fade out of the popular narrative. The hard truth is that in order to be successful, civil protests must upend the status quo and inconvenience the public for its problems to be taken seriously.

Therefore, a suggestion to those legitimately inconvenienced by the farmers’ protests, as well as those that will be inconvenienced by other civil protests down the road: The protestors are your co-citizens, fellow members of our national community, who are motivated by the desire to keep their lives from getting worse, not make yours worse. View their actions in good faith.

https://twitter.com/barandbench/status/1444926172798722052 
Bar & Bench @barandbench
Oct 4
SC: We will transfer the Rajasthan matter here and hear both the cases together. You have challenged the validity of the act, we can decide the validity itself. but what is the question of protests?

Chaudhary: our protests are not limited only to the enactments it is also for in a positive manner that MSP should be included which is a long-standing demand.
SC: Show us your request to the authority on why you want to protest?
SC: When you have challenged the law then why you should be allow to protest. you have to decide whether to come to court, to parliament or streets
Chaudhary: its a concerted effort, the issues need to be addressed

SC: We will transfer the plea from Rajasthan HC and decide validity of the three acts
SC: We have to decide the legal question on when you have approached courts then how can you protest on the same issue.
SC: No one takes responsibility on damage to properties and assets
SG Tushar Mehta: when the matter is before highest constitutional court then what protest?

SC: Which law is there? law is not there.. it is stayed at the time being
AG: Till the validity is decided protests cannot continue

SC: They say there are not part of the protests but they want to protest at jantar mantar
AG: A lot of unfortunate incidents take place during these protests

SC: We have Ld AG wh graciously appeared pursuant to a request made by this court. we deem it appropriate to examine the principle issue as to whether right to protest is an absolute right

SC: more so the petitioner having invoked the legal remedy by approaching the constitutional court should be permitted to or have resort to protest against the matter which is Subjudice.

SC: since plea is pending before rajasthan HC, we direct the same plea to be transferred to this court and hear this plea together with it. we direct registry to summon case details from HC and transfer the case so that both petitions can be heard on Oct 21.

SC: Respondents to file a reply. open to Union of India to file a consolidated reply to both the petitions. we make it clear that plea will proceed for hearing on scheduled date

Yes this is the highest court in the so called largest democracy in the world..

krishan @YeoKrishan
Electoral bonds ka case pada in kale angrejon ke pas aaj tak kuch kiya usspe
SC keval ab govt ki chaatne ke alwa koi kaam nahi karta h
Law ministry ka department ban gaya ek
Pura judiciary kuch families and ek-duki caste ke logo se bhara pada
Sabse makkar log h SC mein

JSingh @j_sssingh
Because you will take generations to dispense your so called brand of justice!!

Meetendra @Meetendra8
How long one has to wait, in last 10 months how many hearings did Your Honour conduct??

TF 1984 @truthfirst1984
SERIOUS QUESTION:
Can there be a protest against the #SupremeCourtOfIndia ?
Or is it unconstitutional ?

frankee chacko @ChackoFrankee
·What about the protest for temple entry issue? #SupremeCourt #India

Joe @sukeshes
All the people who died waiting for their cases to be heard, disagree

Gurpreet Singh @Gurpree33874115
We didn't go any court

arctic2017 @arctic2017
It is the govt and the party in power which is engaging in violence.

shaddy @shaddy55153287
 ...people look at you with hope ...but SC acting like hopeless

shaddy @shaddy55153287
Wasnt Babri masjid case in SC when it was demolished by so many protesters (gundas) ...SC can take there advice fold it and keep it in there black coats

Dhiraj Gajbhiye @IDhirajGajbhiye
How many matters that SC are handling which are pending since decades?
Har kisi ko #ArnabGoswami ki tarah to SC treat karta nahi hai!

Ajai @ajai_cs
So are our Supreme Court judges suggesting that a citizen has to forefeit his fundamental rights ,before he approaches a court of law? Do the judges realise how ugly that thought is.

Vivek @Vksrhuk
..Supreme Court is destroying the political process in this country it will soon gonna loose its moral authority in this country.

arctic2017 @arctic2017
BS. Public have the right to avail all remedies available. Whoever said this should resign and all his judgments need to be reviewed. No knowledge of law. Gone on a tangent, beating around the bush, going beyond the pleadings and engaging in conjecture and speculation.

The Return of the Humpty Dumpty Court  https://indconlawphil.wordpress.com/2021/10/04/the-return-of-the-humpty-dumpty-court/ OCTOBER 4, 2021 GAUTAM BHATIA

...its own recent record on hearing important constitutional cases. ..The Court took six years to hear the constitutional challenge to Aadhaar, during which the Aadhaar project became a fait accompli.

The constitutional challenge to the effective abrogation of Article 370 was filed on 7th August, 2019. Two years have passed. No judgment.

The constitutional challenge to the electoral bonds case was filed in 2018. Three and a half years have passed. No judgment.

When habeas corpus cases were filed after the events of 5th August 2019, then-Chief Justice and now-MP Ranjan Gogoi openly mocked the individuals who had filed them, and many of those petitions were not decided for months.

When, more than a year ago, the journalist Siddique Kappan was jailed by the UP police while on the way to report on the Hathras gangrape, then-Chief Justice Bobde repeatedly adjourned his Article 32 petition, and to this date, Kappan remains in jail without trial.

And apart from all that, what of the farm laws themselves? When the laws were challenged last year, the Supreme Court stayed them under highly dubious circumstances, without providing any substantive reasons for the same, constituted a committee and asked for a report, and after that, has taken no action on the case. How can it be that in circumstances such as these – when there is no accountability regarding the disposal of crucial constitutional cases, and where non-decision directly favours the executive – that Khanwilkar and Ravikumar JJ now see fit to tell individuals that they cannot protest a law if they have challenged it before the Court? This is not simply a moral error, it is rank hypocrisy.

We are living in a time where ambush PILs. .. . The strategic role played by ambush PILs is plain to see, not least that it leaves genuinely affected parties who may otherwise have chosen not to approach the Court with no option but to litigate: it is either that, or risk a contrary judgment in a thrown litigation. In the context of this reality, the Court’s order is deeply disingenuous, suggesting as it does that the act of filing a case necessarily means that the parties have sworn off all other forms of (constitutionally protected) action legislation that affects their interests. 

Garba ban only in Mumbai
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/86718718.cms

Navratri 2021: No garba this year in Mumbai https://www.mid-day.com/mumbai/mumbai-news/article/navratri-2021-no-garba-this-year-in-mumbai-23194605  01 October,2021

Garba won’t be allowed and not more than 10 people should be present in pandals for aarti or bhajan. Similarly, only five to 10 people will be allowed to be part of immersion processions

Mumbai: Worli fishermen protest against BMC’s coastal road activities https://www.freepressjournal.in/mumbai/mumbai-worli-fishermen-protest-against-bmcs-coastal-road-activities 
Dipti Singh Friday, October 15, 2021, 09:19 AM IST

The Hindustan Construction Company (HCC) last week anchored three buoys in the fishing waters to facilitate the movement of their barges and tugboats in the areas, damaging  Worli Koliwada fishermen's  nets.

As a protest, fishermen surrounded the jetty built by the civic body for coastal road construction work. They refused to leave until the anchors’ buoys were removed. In contrast, the officials on the spot assured that the buoys would be shifted to an appropriate location by evening or the next day.

However, no development has happened yet, representatives from Worli Koliwada confirmed. Nitesh Patil, an artisan fisherman and director of Worli Koliwada Nakhwa Vyavsay Cooperative Society, alleged that no prior warning was given to them by the company or by the BMC before they dropped the anchors.

Not only this, but they also assured us that a detailed survey would be conducted to ensure the community don’t face any problems due to their activities,” Patil said. The officials asked us to give three alternate locations to anchor the buoys. “Almost 2-5 minutes away from the one now. However, by evening they did not agree to it and said it is far and away from their boundaries,” he said.

Coastal Road Project: Fishermen call for mass protest  https://www.freepressjournal.in/mumbai/coastal-road-project-fishermen-call-for-mass-protest 
Mass gathering planned at Azad Maidan on August 25 against demolition of Dadar fish market and ongoing coastal road project Pratip Acharya

The members of the fishing community in Mumbai have called for a mass gathering at Azad Maidan on August 25 to protest the demolition of Dadar fish market and the ongoing coastal road project.

According to members of the Vanchit Macchimar Sahakari Sangathana, an apex group of fishermen, nearly 2,500 families are being affected due to the ongoing coastal road project. Sanjay Baikar, spokesperson of the community said that due to the reclamation works that have taken place in the last one year, the entire marine ecology has been adversely affected, which has led to the loss of catch from the shallow waters.

“Initially we were told that reclamation was done so that the trucks and heavy vehicles can pass through during the construction works. We were also told the road will be constructed on pillars and only five per cent of the overall sea will be reclaimed,” Baikar said, adding that they realised they were being cheated only after the reclamation works began in full force. “The majority of the seashore was being reclaimed,” he said.

Lakhimpur Kheri Violence: Ruling MVA Allies Call For Maharashtra Bandh On Monday   https://www.outlookindia.com/website/story/india-news-ruling-mva-allies-call-for-maharashtra-bandh-on-monday-over-lakhimpur-kheri/397275 

The shutdown has been called by the three partners in the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government in Maharashtra - Shiv Sena, NCP, and Congress.  

The three ruling allies have made it clear that the bandh was not state government-sponsored, but called by the parties.

The Kisan Sabha has extended support to the bandh and said its workers in 21 districts of the state are coordinating with the like-minded organisations to ensure that the bandh gets good response.

Meanwhile, the Mumbai Police have said that the department will deploy the maximum manpower at their disposal on the streets on Monday to prevent any untoward incident during the Maharashtra bandh.

If shops are force-closed...': Nitesh Rane warns Maharashtra govt's bandh call over Lakhimpur violence  https://www.indiatvnews.com/news/india/nitesh-rane-warning-maharashtra-government-bandh-call-lakhimpur-kheri-violence-case-updates-739663 
The minister further said that the MVA karyakartas will have to face BJP karyakartas if the shops are forcefully closed down.

Maharashtra Bandh over Lakhimpur Kheri violence: In U-turn, traders' association says shops will remain closed till 4 pm https://www.freepressjournal.in/mumbai/maharashtra-bandh-over-lakhimpur-kheri-violence-in-u-turn-traders-association-to-shut-shops-till-4-pm 

Samyukt Shetkari Kamgar Morcha endorses call for Maharashtra bandh https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/samyukt-shetkari-kamgar-morcha-endorses-call-for-maharashtra-bandh/article36908310.ece 
Staff Reporter
Mumbai, October 09, 2021