The Delhi High Court has sought the Centre and other authorities’ instructions on a group of petitions concerning protests against alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, reported assaults, detention claims, traffic disruption and business losses in central Delhi.
A division bench of Acting Chief Justice Nitin Sambre and Justice Sanjay Sharma on Tuesday asked counsel appearing for the Centre and other authorities to obtain instructions from their respective departments. The bench also sought records of the pleadings and submissions made by the petitioners and the government before the Supreme Court.
The petitions include a plea by NSUI president Vinod Jakhar seeking court intervention and an independent investigation into allegations that “anti-social elements” assaulted people on October 10 at Connaught Place and near Jantar Mantar. The Centre, represented by Additional Solicitor General Chetan Sharma and standing counsel Ashish Dixit, questioned whether the petition could be entertained because Jakhar was affiliated with the NSUI, an affiliation he had not disclosed under High Court norms.
The court granted the Centre three weeks to file its preliminary objections. Jakhar told the bench that he had filed the petition in his personal capacity and requested directions to preserve CCTV footage related to the alleged incidents. The court did not issue such a direction at this stage.
Another petition, filed by law student Anshika Tripathi and a practising advocate, challenges restrictions imposed before and during the protests. The petitioners argued that denying permission to protest at a particular site should be assessed separately from restrictions on people travelling to Delhi or assembling elsewhere in the city. They also raised what they described as a serious concern over alleged house arrests and sought details on the number of people under house arrest or detention and the legal orders under which such action was taken. The court did not issue directions on that request during the hearing.
A separate plea by practising advocate Rishabh Saxena focused on traffic management during public assemblies and demonstrations in the Mandi House-Jantar Mantar area and other parts of central Delhi. Saxena said his journey from Defence Colony to a court premises was delayed by two hours because a gathering obstructed the route on Monday, when Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi led INDIA bloc leaders towards the Supreme Court.
Petitions filed by a street vendors’ association and a traders’ association had not been formally notified and listed when the matter was heard. Their submissions, as reported before the court, alleged that protests near Jantar Mantar had disrupted the city despite the site no longer being designated as a protest venue.
Senior advocates Sanjay Poddar and Sacchin Puri told the court that large gatherings were blocking streets, shutting markets and affecting business during the festival season. They cited an estimated loss of more than Rs 2,000 crore and said the October-February period was particularly important for traders. They also sought implementation of Supreme Court orders and standard operating procedures governing protests.
The Supreme Court is separately dealing with petitions related to the protests. The Delhi High Court division bench is scheduled to take up the petitions again on Friday, while the apex court deferred hearing petitions listed on Tuesday.
