HC asks UP govt to inform about steps taken to check protest in Lucknow areas

Expressing concern over protests being allowed in the city and the problems being faced by people, the Allahabad High Court has directed the Uttar Pradesh chief secretary, principal secretary for Home and DGP to apprise it on April 10 on steps taken to redress the problem.

The court has also directed the state's top officials to indicate an alternate site for protests on the city's outskirts and inform it about the "concrete" steps taken for ensuring no such protests are held in the heart of Lucknow and on highways.

It asked what measures were being taken to check protesters, who try to hold the general public to ransom, of any such protests take place.

Indicating government authorities to, in fact, ban public protests and stirs in city areas, a bench of justices Vikram Nath and Abdul Moin took the government to task for its "lethargy" to take strict action against agitators.

When the court was intimated that the Rama Bai Rally Sthal was earmarked for protests, but protesters were more interested in highlighting their grievances by holding stirs the city, the bench said, " Such protest cannot be permitted to be held any further in the heart of the city, whereby causing inconvenience to the general public."
Taking cognisance of a news report, it said, "Public protests may be a form of dissent and a form of indicating the dissatisfaction with government policies and a peaceful protest would show the dissatisfaction of a particular segment of the public towards their demands or certain government policies."
"It (the court) is totally astonished with the callous attitude of the local administration in, firstly, permitting such protests in the heart of the city and secondly, not doing anything to control the said protests with a firm hand," it said