New Delhi, India – The Supreme Court has fixed a special hearing on Sunday of a contempt petition challenging the blanket shutdown of public transport, rail, and Metro services designed to deter protesters converging in the national capital to demand the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. A Bench of Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana will preside over the hearing.
Hundreds of volunteers of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), along with other citizens and workers, were brought from multiple locations across Delhi to Chhatrasal Stadium in Model Town, where they were being held. Even as the Delhi Police—who denied permission for the demonstration—detained founder Abhijeet Dipke and other CJP leaders, including Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka, as soon as they landed in Delhi, the party said the protest against CEC Gyanesh Kumar and the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls will carry on with or without its leadership.
Earlier, YouTuber Dhruv Rathee was detained in a joint operation by the Delhi and Gurugram police from a residential flat in Gurugram and taken to an undisclosed location. According to Delhi Police sources, around 14,000 police personnel, including 10,000 men and 4,000 women, were deployed for the protest, with the deployment including Delhi Police and CAPF personnel, along with forces from Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, and Rajasthan. Over 5,000 protesters were detained across Delhi by 2 p.m., with more than 500 taken away from the Jantar Mantar protest site and nearby areas.
Delhi Metro Rail Corporation extended the closure of entry and exit gates at 45 metro stations by four hours till 10 p.m. amid security arrangements. The Delhi Police denied permission for the protest, citing alleged non-compliance with conditions agreed to during an earlier demonstration and the late submission of the permission request. The Supreme Court Bar Association expressed grave concern over the reported use of excessive force against and detention of senior and young advocates, particularly women lawyers, who were peacefully protesting in the Supreme Court area, urging Chief Justice of India Surya Kant to intervene.
The United Nations Human Rights office also expressed concern over the mass detentions of demonstrators, protest leaders, members of civil society organisations, lawyers, and journalists. “We call on the authorities to ensure that the right to peaceful assembly is fully respected and fulfilled,” it said in a social media post. The protests also spread to other cities, with INDIA bloc leaders and student associations rallying in Visakhapatnam, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, and Chandigarh, demanding the immediate resignation of the Chief Election Commissioner.
