Street vendors at Palika Bazar have approached the Delhi High Court to stop the Cockroach Janata Party’s protest at Central Park, Connaught Place, which is scheduled for Friday, October 16. The vendors have claimed that another shutdown of the area will wipe out their livelihood.

Street vendors selling various products at Palika Bazar for years have approached the Delhi High Court seeking to ‘stop’ the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP)'s protest scheduled to be held at Central Park in Connaught Place on Friday, October 16.

The vendors have expressed concern that the demonstration could severely affect business in the area and will ‘completely finish’ them.

Senior Advocate Sacchin Puri, appearing for the petitioners, mentioned the plea before a Bench led by Acting Chief Justice Nitin W Sambre on Thursday.

He submitted that the proposed protest could lead to another shutdown of Connaught Place, affecting the livelihood of people dependent on businesses in the area.

"A protest has been called at Central Park. We have filed a petition, My Lords. It seems that we are now being targeted, My Lords, because they are going to shut down CP completely again. Again, this is the second weekend, My Lords. We are going to be completely out of work during this weekend" Puri told the Court.

He further submitted that the shutdown had already begun and that barricading had started in the area.

"The protest will start tomorrow morning. The shutdown has already started, and the barricading has already begun. It will completely finish us if this is not stopped, My Lords. This protest has to be stopped" he submitted.

Responding to the submissions, the Bench observed that the Supreme Court was already dealing with issues relating to the ongoing protests.

"The Supreme Court is taking care of you" the Court told the counsel.

The Bench asked Puri to return at 2:30 pm today, stating that it would consider the matter then. The counsel was asked to bring copies of the relevant Supreme Court orders.

The High Court did not pass any immediate order stopping the proposed protest during the morning hearing.

The plea comes after CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke called on people to assemble at Central Park in Connaught Place on Friday with the national flag.

The protest call was made amid the party's opposition to Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and its claims concerning the detention of party members Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka.

Das and Ranka were sent to five days of judicial custody on Wednesday in connection with proceedings arising from allegations concerning their entry into Jantar Mantar and the alleged violation of peace bonds. The venue has been denotified as a designated protest site.

The proposed demonstration at Central Park comes amid continuing disputes over the restrictions imposed on protest venues in Delhi and the location where political groups and citizens can assemble to express dissent.

The street vendors’ plea raises concerns about the potential impact of the CJP protest on commercial activity in Connaught Place. The petitioners have urged the High Court to intervene before the scheduled demonstration, arguing that the shutdown and barricading could affect the livelihood of people working in the area.

Tags: