New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday said there cannot be any ‘blanket ban’ on holding protests here at Jantar Mantar.

After hearing a batch of petition including the one filed by Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan, a division bench of the apex court, headed by Justice Arjan Kumar Sikri, also comprising Justice Ashok Bhushan, said there was a need for striking a balance between conflicting rights such as right to protest and right of citizens to live peacefully.

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) in October last year had banned all kinds of protests and dharnas around the historic Jantar Mantar area, which has been a hotspot of many agitations over the past decades, saying such activities violate environmental laws.

The Tribunal had directed the authorities to shift the protesters, agitators and people holding dharnas to alternative site — Ramlila Grounds in Ajmeri Gate.