The Delhi High Court has agreed to hear a petition by the Indian Youth Congress (IYC) seeking permission to hold a peaceful protest at Jantar Mantar against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in the special intensive revision of electoral rolls.
The court told the petitioner’s counsel that the plea would be listed on Friday. It also said the matter could be mentioned again if it was not listed, according to The Hindu. The hearing follows a challenge to a Delhi Police communication dated October 1, which denied permission for the proposed demonstration.
The IYC, through its national president Uday Bhanu Chib, had applied to the Delhi Police on September 25 to organise a protest involving around 100 to 150 people. The proposed demonstration was scheduled to run between October 1 and October 25. The organisation said it had agreed to comply with lawful conditions related to security, traffic management, discipline and public order.
The protest is linked to the IYC’s demand for the resignation of Mr. Kumar over alleged irregularities in the special intensive revision, or SIR, of electoral rolls. The allegations and the demand are those raised by the petitioner; the court has not ruled on their merits in the proceedings described in the report.
In its petition, the IYC argued that the police response raised questions about how constitutional rights could be regulated when an organisation seeks to hold a peaceful demonstration at Jantar Mantar. It said the proposed protest concerned transparency, accountability and the functioning of constitutional institutions, and invoked the rights to freedom of speech and expression and to assemble peacefully and without arms.
The petition acknowledged that the State can regulate assemblies in the interests of public order, traffic management, public safety and the rights of residents and other members of the public. However, it challenged what it described as the manner and extent of the restriction imposed by the police.
The IYC argued that the power to regulate a fundamental right could not become an unfettered power to prohibit its exercise. It sought what it described as reasonable regulation, individualised assessment and proportionality instead of a mechanical refusal of permission.
Jantar Mantar is a designated protest location in central Delhi, where demonstrations are subject to controls intended to manage security, movement and public order. The case therefore places the administration of a major public gathering space alongside the constitutional question of how restrictions on assemblies should be applied.
The plea seeks the quashing of the October 1 police communication and directions for fresh and lawful consideration of the organisation’s request. The next procedural step is the listing and hearing of the petition before the Delhi High Court.
