The Supreme Court on Wednesday said that the protesters cannot occupy public places indefinitely while hearing a batch of petitions against the anti-CAA protests at Delhi's Shaheen Bagh over the contentious citizenship law. "Dissent and democracy go hand in hand," the top court remarked, emphasizing that "protests like these are not acceptable". "We have to make it clear that public places cannot be occupied indefinitely whether in Shaheen Bagh (in Delhi) or elsewhere. These sorts of protests (like Shaheen Bagh) are not acceptable and (the) authorities should act... they must keep such spaces free from obstruction," the apex court said, adding the "administration cannot wait for orders from the court to clear" the protest sites.