A day before the proposed protest by the Quami Insaf Morcha, the Punjab and Haryana High Court expressed its hope and trust that Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh authorities handle the situation with sensitivity and responsibility to prevent untoward incidents.The Bench of Acting Chief Justice Ashwani Kumar Mishra and Justice Rohit Kapoor noted that citizens had a fundamental right to assemble and express their views through peaceful protest.“We hope and trust that the States of Punjab and Haryana, as well as the Union Territory of Chandigarh, shall act with due sensitivity and responsibility and ensure that no untoward incident is permitted to occur. We further expect that all necessary preventive and remedial measures, as warranted in law, shall be taken for the protection of the life, liberty, and security of the public at large in accordance with law,” it asserted.Referring to the legal position governing the right to protest, the Bench noted: “It is well settled that, in a democracy, citizens have a fundamental right to assemble and express their views through peaceful protest… However, where a protest ceases to be peaceful, turns violent, or poses a threat to public safety, the competent authorities are duty-bound to take appropriate preventive and remedial measures.”The observation came while hearing a PIL filed by Vivek Singla, a practising advocate, in the backdrop of a protest proposed to be held by the Quami Insaf Morcha in Chandigarh on August 15. The Bench took up the petition out of turn following special mentioning by the petitioner. The Morcha is seeking the release of Sikh prisoners, who have spent prolonged period in jail.The court recorded that the “immediate cause for filing this PIL petition is the perceived law and order situation on account of protest proposed to be held tomorrow i.e. on August 15 by Quami Insaf Morcha.”Senior advocate RS Khosla, along with counsel Mankreet Sangar, submitted on the petitioner’s behalf that such protests often led to serious law-and-order situations in which the public suffered despite having no connection with the protest. The petitioner further apprehended that any attempt by protesters to seize the town or certain localities in Chandigarh could cause irreparable injury to public interest.Appearing before the Bench, UT senior standing counsel Amit Jhanji, Punjab senior Deputy Advocate-General Salil Sabhlok and Haryana Additional Advocate-General Sourabh Goel stated that the authorities concerned were “aware of the threat perception and adequate deployment of police personnel would be made to check any untoward incident.”The Bench directed that the matter be listed again on August 20, “by when the respective status reports in this regard be filed by the States of Punjab and Haryana as well as Union Territory, Chandigarh.”