Delhi Police have registered 25 FIRs linked to protests over the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in the national capital since October 2, with Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra among those named, according to sources cited by Millennium Post.
The cases have been registered in connection with alleged vandalism of public property, assaults and scuffles involving police personnel, obstruction of government work and violation of prohibitory orders in the New Delhi district. The prohibitory orders were imposed under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS).
A police source said action was taken against protesters following repeated incidents of alleged lawlessness during the demonstrations. The report did not provide details of the individual FIRs, including the number of accused in each case, the specific locations of the alleged incidents or the extent of damage to public property.
The protests have involved opposition Members of Parliament, who have held a series of demonstrations in the national capital over the SIR exercise. The demonstrations followed a report by The Indian Express stating that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had objected to multiple decisions and orders related to the revision of electoral rolls.
The FIRs bring the management of protest activity into focus in central Delhi, where demonstrations can affect access to government offices, public roads and public spaces. Allegations of obstruction of government work and violations of prohibitory orders are being examined through the cases registered by the police; the supplied report does not indicate that the allegations have been established by a court.
The naming of political leaders in the cases is part of the police action reported by Millennium Post. The available information does not specify the offences applied to each named individual or whether arrests, notices, investigations or other procedural steps have followed in the separate cases.
The protests are connected to a wider dispute over decisions and orders concerning the SIR of electoral rolls. Delhi Police’s reported next steps will involve investigation of the allegations recorded in the 25 FIRs and further action under the applicable legal provisions.
