Deferring the hearing to August 17, the Punjab and Haryana high court has made it clear that it will not hesitate in issuing directions to remove the protesters sitting at Mohali’s YPS Chowk by use of force.

“We are inclined to put it down in black and white that the law as such is clear that public roads cannot be blocked and general public cannot be put to inconvenience, and we would have no hesitation to issue such directions to the state to get the roads cleared by using force, if necessary,” the bench of justice GS Sandhawalia and justice Harpreet Kaur Jeewan observed, adding that the bench hopes “better sense will prevail upon them”.

The court was hearing a plea from NGO ArriveSAFE, seeking removal of protesters from YPS Chowk, a major traffic lifeline.

Since January 7, the rotary, near the Chandigarh-Mohali border, has been blocked for traffic due to the protest by the Qaumi Insaaf Morcha that has been demanding release of Sikh prisoners, majorly hitting inter-city movement of traffic.

The NGO’s PIL was filed on March 10 and has been heard nearly a dozen times ever since, with Punjab and UT’s assurances that talks are on with the protesters and amicable solution will be arrived at.

As the court found that no action was being taken against the protesters, the Punjab DGP was also summoned for hearing on May 25. However, the protest still continues.

During the latest hearing on August 2, the UT police told the court that on July 6, a meeting was held between police and morcha organisers, and they were advised to seek recourse to their legal remedies. Meetings also took place on July 21 and 27 in the presence of officials from Punjab, the court was told, adding that efforts had been made for peaceful resolution of the issue.

Mohali administration on the other hand submitted that the morcha was advised to move to alternative sites in Mohali, already designated for protests, and were asked to open one side of the road running from Mohali to Chandigarh, but they sought time to consult with their committee members before finalising anything.

Advocate Navkiran Singh, who appeared for the morcha, also assured the court that efforts will be made to resolve the issue by the next date of hearing.

The protest site has seen multiple incidents of violence over the past seven months. On February 8, protesters had clashed with police forces at the Sector 52/53 dividing road after being stopped from marching towards Chandigarh, leaving 33 cops injured.