HC declines to entertain PIL to remove differently abled protestors from Mandi House

The Delhi High Court on Monday declined to entertain a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking directions to remove physically handicapped protestors from the periphery of Mandi House and to open roads affected by their demonstrations for general traffic.

A portion of the Mandi House circle and a couple of nearby roads have been closed since November 26 to general traffic due to an ongoing protest by differently abled persons who are seeking railway jobs.

A bench of Chief Justice D N Patel and Justice C Hari Shankar observed that the petitioner has moved the court without first making a representation to the concerned authorities.

The court directed petitioner Bajrang Vats, a lawyer practising in the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT), to make a representation to the authorities and disposed off his plea.

Vats, in the petition, had said that due to the protest, police has blocked one side of Sikandra Road from ITO here to Mandi House for vehicular traffic as well as both sides of Bhagwandas Road from Tilak Marg red light to Mandi House.

The plea also said that such gatherings were prohibited since section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code was invoked in the area, but police was not removing the protestors.