India, April 17 -- "We find that the manner of the protest resorted to by the appellants was peaceful and orderly and without in any manner using offensive or abusive language. It could not be said that the appellants crossed the lakshman rekha and transgressed into the offending zone," a bench of Justices K V Viswanathan and N Kotiswar Singh said.

"A right to protest peacefully without falling foul of the law is a corresponding right, which the consumers ought to possess just as the seller enjoys his right to commercial speech. Any attempt to portray them as criminal offences, when the necessary ingredients are not made out, would be a clear abuse of process and should be nipped in the bud," observed the bench as per a report filed by L...