"The right to peaceful, lawful protest is absolutely guaranteed under the Constitution. So long as it is peaceful agitation, merely because there is agitation, there can't be (police excess)," the CJI-led Bench observed. During the hearing, Justice Bagchi remarked that injuries suffered by both protesters and police personnel were matters of equal concern. The top court also said there should be a protocol to facilitate peaceful demonstrations while enabling authorities to deal with anti-social elements, if any. Responding to the rival submissions, the CJI Kant-led Bench said that while peaceful protest is a Constitutional right, allegations of violence by protesters also required scrutiny.