"Cat Out Of Bag": Top Court To Hear Shaheen Bagh Case After Delhi Polls

The Supreme Court has adjourned till Monday petitions filed by a former Delhi BJP MLA and an advocate that seek to remove hundreds of anti-citizenship law protesters encamped for over a month at the city's Shaheen Bagh area. The top court was scheduled to hear the case today but postponed the matter because of Assembly polls in the national capital tomorrow, saying it did not want to "influence" the election.

The petitioner argued postponement meant the case would not be heard till after the election, to which Justice SK Kaul humorously replied: "cat is out of the bag... that is the exact reason we are adjourning".

"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.

Delhi votes for a new 70-member Assembly on Saturday, with results due February 11.

The Supreme Court also warned the petitioners to come prepared on Monday to explain why the matter should not be remitted back to the Delhi High Court.

Filed earlier this week by BJP leader Nand Kishore, the petition seeks "comprehensive, exhaustive guidelines" for outright restrictions on protest and agitation at public places, with a reference to protests at Shaheen Bagh that have been going on for over a month.

The petition, which claims law-enforcement had been "held hostage to the whims and fancies of the protesters", also states that residents and those commuting between South Delhi and Noida were being inconvenienced because a key road was blocked.

Protests against the citizenship law have taken over the Shaheen Bagh area in Delhi

The Shaheen Bagh site, where over 200 women have braved the winter to agitate against the Citizenship Amendment Act,, has emerged as the epicentre of nationwide protests and the main target of the BJP as the party tries to make it the focus of Delhi polls.

On Thursday Union Minister Giriraj Singh claimed the area had become a breeding ground for suicide bombers conspiring against the country from the capital.

The outrageous comment was the latest in a long line of shocking comments by BJP MPs and leaders, including Union Minister of State Anurag Thakur, who was caught on camera chanting the first half of a slogan that concludes with a call to gun down traitors - the term by which anti-citizenship law protesters have frequently been called.

The Shaheen Bagh protest, which has inspired similar ones around the country, including those in Lucknow and Mumbai, have also emerged as a sore point between Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, with the AAP leader taking a swipe at Mr Shah - under whose ministry Delhi Police rolls up.

Last month, responding to a PIL filed by advocate and social activist Amit Sahni, the Delhi High Court asked police to clear the route using "persuasion" rather than force.

The controversial legislation that the protesters at Shaheen Bagh are agitating against is the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, which makes religion, for the first time, the test of Indian citizenship.

The government says it will help non-Muslim refugees from three Muslim-dominated neighbouring countries if they fled to India because of religious persecution Critics say the bill discriminates against Muslims and violates secular tenets of the Constitution.