SIR: 200 protesters detained, cases filed
Nearly 200 protesters were detained in connection with Saturday’s demonstrations at Jantar Mantar demanding the resignation of CEC Gyanesh Kumar, and Delhi Police registered cases under provisions covering disobedience of orders and obstruction and assault of public servants for Friday’s protest, officials said.
Security was extensive, with multiple barricades and restricted access around the central Delhi protest ground.
The renewed mobilisation followed a call by AISA national president Neha Bora, who had been among those detained on Friday. She urged activists to assemble at 1 pm and continue the demonstration. Senior advocates Kapil Sibal, Nitya Ramakrishnan, Pallav Sisodia and student groups also joined the protest.
Police invoked Sections 223(a), 221, 132 and 3(5) of the BNS in connection with Friday’s protests.
Police said they detained approximately 200 people as they gathered near Jantar Mantar. Security personnel were stationed at several access points, while barricades blocked roads leading to the site. Authorities said they had not granted permission for gatherings on either day.
A day earlier, police had detained approximately 700 people, including Bora and Yadav, as they attempted to reach Jantar Mantar for a similar protest. Following those attempts, security across central Delhi was tightened. Prohibitory orders were in force in the New Delhi district. Police and paramilitary personnel were deployed, and successive layers of barricades were erected to prevent unauthorised assemblies from forming or moving toward the designated protest area.
Delhi Police registered at least three first information reports in connection with Friday’s events: two at Parliament Street police station and one at Connaught Place police station. The cases were filed under Section 223 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, which concerns alleged disobedience of an order duly promulgated by a public servant. No individual or organisation was named as an accused, although the reports referred to organisers and groups that had proposed or participated in the demonstrations. The FIRs concern alleged breaches of restrictions imposed across the New Delhi district under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita. Those orders prohibited gatherings of five or more people, processions, demonstrations, picketing, dharnas, and slogan-shouting without prior written permission.
On Friday evening, Bora said in a video message that the protest would continue. She urged supporters to return to Jantar Mantar and stated that the detentions would not deter further mobilisation. Demonstrators have opposed the Special Intensive Revision exercise and alleged irregularities in the electoral roll revision. Their demand for the Chief Election Commissioner’s resignation stems from concerns about the conduct and outcome of the revision process.
Separately, Indian Youth Congress president Uday Bhanu Chib has petitioned the Delhi High Court regarding the police refusal to permit a proposed demonstration at Jantar Mantar. The petition challenges an October 1 order rejecting the organisation’s request to hold a peaceful gathering of approximately 100 to 150 people. It argues that the decision was made without an individualised and proportionate assessment of the proposed assembly, and that authorities cannot prohibit peaceful gatherings under the guise of regulating them. The legal challenge adds a judicial dimension to the street protests, focusing on the scope of police authority to deny permission for assemblies at the traditional protest site.
Saturday’s detentions and the continued police deployment around Jantar Mantar indicated that authorities intended to enforce the prohibitory orders, while organisers sought to sustain pressure through repeated mobilisation. Participants from student groups, civil society, and the legal community remained visible on the second day. Meanwhile, the administration maintained layered security and registered further cases linked to the previous day’s attempt.
Restrictions on the ground, criminal complaints under the new criminal codes, and a pending High Court petition concerning permission have framed the dispute as both a political protest over electoral roll revision and a debate about the conditions under which public assemblies may be held in central Delhi.
