Apex court to decide: If case is in SC, can protest go on?

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday said the challenge to the validity of three controversial farm laws and the protests on the streets can’t go together, as it embarked on examining the legal issue of whether “once a matter is sub-judice, can there be protests on the street”? The court, in its order, said: “We deem it appropriate to examine the central issue as to whether the right to protest is an absolute right and, more so, whether the writ petitioner having already invoked the legal remedy before the constitutional court by filing the writ petition, can be permitted to urge, much less assert, that they can still resort to a protest in respect of the same subject matter which is already sub-judice before the court.” Referring to the petitions challenging the three laws that are already pending before the court, the judges in their order on Monday said: “We were informed that there are other writ petitions pending in this court involving a challenge to the validity of the three enactments. The registry may seek appropriate directions in this regard from the Hon’ble Chief Justice of India.” Telling the Mahapanchayat that it can’t on one hand knock at the doors of a constitutional court challenging the laws and then simultaneously take to the streets to protest against them, Justice Khanwilkar wondered: “Why are the farmers protesting, against what?” He pointed out that the court had stayed the operation of the three laws and the Central government has undertaken not to go ahead with their implementation. As Justice Khanwilkar hammered on the point that approaching the constitutional court challenging three farm laws and simultaneously taking to the streets can’t go together, attorney general K.K.