“Can’t Occupy A Site For All Times”: Supreme Court Seeks Response On Traders’ Plea Over Anti-CEC Protests

Delhi traders claim Rs 10,000-12,000 crore in festive-season losses from the INDIA bloc rally, and the Supreme Court wants the organisers made parties

PGurus Newsdesk

November 3, 2026

Right To Protest Exists, But Designated Time Must Be Fixed For Designated Period

The bench said it could not adjudicate the traders’ plea unless all protesting groups were made parties to the case

The Supreme Court on Tuesday sought responses from the Centre and other parties on a plea filed by traders’ organisations seeking an end to protests against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar during the festive season, observing that a protest site cannot be occupied for all time.

A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana was hearing a batch of petitions, including one by the Kirana Committee Delhi, which alleged that the November 1 rally at Ramlila Maidan caused business losses. The pleas also raise issues of alleged mass detention, police brutality, closure of Metro stations and internet shutdowns.

The Chief Justice observed that a designated period must be set aside for protests, and asked where farmers, journalists and others would go if one site stayed occupied throughout. He also noted that everyone has the right to protest.

The bench asked the traders’ bodies to implead the political parties organising the anti-CEC protests, saying the court could not adjudicate the matter unless all the protesting groups were made parties to the case.

Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for the traders, told the court that nearly 50 lakh people live in the areas around the protest site. He claimed that shops remained shut and Connaught Place was deserted on Tuesday.

The Chamber of Trade and Industry (CTI) has claimed that around 2.5 lakh of 3 lakh shops across 25 major wholesale and retail markets remained closed or were heavily affected during the November 1 rally, held just before Diwali. CTI Chairman Brijesh Goyal and other trade bodies have estimated the losses between Rs 10,000 crore and Rs 12,000 crore.

CTI said it wrote four letters to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, on October 24, October 27, October 28 and November 1, asking him to postpone the rally or shift the venue. Traders’ associations also wrote to Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee seeking their intervention. The rally went ahead as scheduled.

Earlier, on October 15, the same bench had sought responses from the Election Commission and others on a plea by Rahul Gandhi and 12 Opposition leaders alleging large-scale voter deletions and irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

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