The Delhi High Court Bar Association has condemned the detention of several lawyers and what it described as excessive and disproportionate police force during a protest near the Supreme Court against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls.
The protest took place on October 10, with lawyers alleging that police personnel pushed participants into buses and vehicles and detained them at different locations. The DHCBA issued a resolution later in the day expressing strong disapproval of the action and seeking attention to the treatment of lawyers, including women advocates.
Videos circulated on social media showed senior advocate Shadan Farasat being lifted and detained by Delhi Police officers. Farasat said he had tried to intervene when police personnel moved towards activist Yogendra Yadav, after which officers tore his shirt and put him inside a moving bus. He said he was concerned that his leg could have come under the vehicle.
Advocate Smiti Verma, who participated in the march, said protesters had been holding a copy of the Preamble to the Constitution when they were pushed into buses. She said she was later moved from a bus to a jeep, while other participants were taken to a sports centre near Karkardooma. Verma also alleged that the Preamble was torn. She said senior advocate Nandita Rao was among those detained.
Senior advocate Dinesh Dwivedi was also reported to be among the detainees. His elder brother, Rakesh Dwivedi, represented the Election Commission of India in the matter related to the Special Intensive Revision, according to the report.
In its resolution, the DHCBA said the protest was peaceful and that video footage appeared to show lawyers, including senior advocates, being physically dragged by police. It described the treatment as an affront to their dignity and constitutional rights. The association also said that the right to peacefully assemble and express dissent could not be overridden by invoking public order as a justification for arbitrary detention or excessive force.
The association further expressed concern over reports that police personnel tore the Preamble of the Constitution, describing the alleged act as contrary to the constitutional values it represents. The claims made by the lawyers and the DHCBA resolution were reported by The Indian Express; the supplied report did not include a response from Delhi Police to the allegations.
The incident places renewed attention on how Delhi authorities manage politically sensitive gatherings in high-security areas around the Supreme Court and other central institutions. The immediate issues raised by the lawyers concern the grounds for detention, the proportionality of police action and the treatment of people exercising the right to assemble and express dissent. The DHCBA’s resolution is the formal next step identified in the report.
