Supreme Court to list plea seeking permission for peaceful protests in Delhi
The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to list a petition seeking directions to the Delhi Police to allow peaceful protests at Jantar Mantar in the national capital.
A counsel mentioned the petition before a bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant. The counsel said the Delhi Police was not allowing students, ordinary citizens, party leaders, MLAs and MPs to protest peacefully. The counsel said the right to peaceful protest is a fundamental right under Article 19, recognised in the Constitution and endorsed by the court.
Chief Justice Kant asked the counsel to clarify the relief sought and the nature of the petition. "What is the relief sought? Who is the petitioner? Is it a PIL?" the Chief Justice asked. The counsel said the petitioner was seeking a direction to the Delhi Police to permit peaceful protests.
The court said it would ascertain whether similar matters were already pending before it. "If some similar matters are there, we will find out. We will only list it, then you argue," Chief Justice Kant said, according to LiveLaw. The petition is titled Priya Mishra v. Union of India, Diary No. 62121/2026.
CEC plea heard the same day
A separate bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V Mohana declined to pass an ex-parte interim order suspending Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. The bench issued notice to the Union of India and the Election Commission of India. Notice also went to Gyanesh Kumar, Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, Deputy Election Commissioner Maneesh Garg and Director General (IT) Seema Khanna.
"There is a mandatory law, and we expect them to follow it. If there is any violation, we will undo," the Chief Justice said. Justice Bagchi said the court would injunct any decision shown by the record to be non-unanimous and declare it ultra vires. Chief Justice Kant said no modified Form 6 has been approved by the Supreme Court.
One petition, filed by Patna resident Rakesh Kumar Singh, seeks a declaration that the Election Commission, being a multi-member body, cannot take decisions unilaterally. It also seeks the suspension of Gyanesh Kumar as CEC and a probe into the deletion of 13 crore names from electoral rolls across 30 States and Union Territories.
A connected petition by advocate Shailendra Mani Tripathi seeks the quashing of 14 Election Commission decisions. It also seeks an inquiry by a judicial commission or Special Investigation Team headed by a retired Supreme Court judge. The petitioners point to at least 14 objections recorded by Election Commissioners Sandhu and Joshi between October 2025 and August 2026 over Special Intensive Revision steps. The Indian Express first reported the objections on September 23.
Protests in the capital
The pleas follow protests in Delhi and other cities demanding Gyanesh Kumar's removal over the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls. On October 3, the Indian Youth Congress moved the Delhi High Court against the denial of permission for a protest at Jantar Mantar.
Separately, a petition in the Supreme Court sought directions to the Delhi Police over what it described as manhandling and detentions in unmarked cars during the protests, The Wire reported.
