A petition has been filed in the Supreme Court on Friday, seeking intervention to immediately remove the mass gathering of farmers from several Delhi border points.
The petition, filed by a law student from Delhi said that the commuters were facing hardships due to the road blockades and that the gatherings might lead to increase in COVID-19 cases.
In the plea, filed through Advocate Om Prakash Parihar, petitioner Rishabh Sharma said, 'Because of the ongoing protest at the Delhi borders, the roads have been blocked by the protesters and closed border points, which have affected vehicular traffic and people who are traveling to and from Delhi to get medical treatment in reputed government/private hospitals situated in Delhi are also affected.'
'Majority of protestors are elderly people who are more vulnerable to this deadly virus, and it is in their best interest to completely avoid such mass gatherings,' he said.
The plea has sought the apex court directions to the authorities to open the roads at Delhi borders, shift these protestors to allotted place and provide guidelines on social distancing and use of mask at the protest place to contain spread of COVID-19 cases.
The plea said the rate of Covid-19 transmission may spike due to the mass gathering.
Sharma said that even though the police had allotted a dedicated place, at Nirankari Ground in Burari for the protestors to hold the demonstration peacefully, they have not moved there, 'and in order to create trouble for the commuters they have blocked the borders'.
Referring to COVID-19 guidelines issued by the government, the plea has said that despite the advisories not to hold large gathering amid the pandemic, lakhs of farmers have gathered on Delhi borders and this might lead to increase in the number of coronavirus cases.
The petition referred to the October 7, 2020 verdict, delivered on a petition against blockade of a road in Shaheen Bagh area here by those protesting against Citizenship Amendment Act, in which the apex court had said that public spaces cannot be occupied indefinitely and demonstrations expressing dissent have to be in designated places alone.