The Delhi High Court will hear on October 9 the Indian Youth Congress petition challenging Delhi Police’s refusal to allow a protest at Jantar Mantar against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls.
The petition was mentioned for urgent listing on October 8 before a bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Nitin Wasudeo Sambre and Justice Sanjay Sharma. The court said the matter would be listed on Friday. It also said that if the petition was not listed, the petitioner could mention it again.
The Indian Youth Congress has sought permission to hold the protest at Jantar Mantar and is challenging the police order that denied approval. The organisation’s proposed demonstration is directed at Kumar and includes a demand for his resignation over what it describes as irregularities in the SIR exercise.
The case places the administrative process for permitting protests at Jantar Mantar before the High Court. The designated protest venue is regularly used for demonstrations in the capital, where organisers must obtain permission from the police and comply with conditions relating to public order, access and security. The material supplied in the petition report does not specify the grounds cited by Delhi Police for refusing permission or the conditions proposed by the organisers.
The proposed protest also comes against the backdrop of earlier demonstrations by Indian Youth Congress workers in Delhi. The Hindu report refers to a ‘Mashaal Julus’ from the IYC office to Jantar Mantar and to a protest held on October 2, during which demonstrators demanded the resignation of the Chief Election Commissioner. The report does not provide details of the permissions, restrictions or police action associated with those events.
The court listing will determine whether the organisation’s challenge receives consideration before the proposed October 9 demonstration. Until the court passes an order, the report does not establish that permission has been granted or that the protest will take place at Jantar Mantar.
The hearing is therefore focused on the immediate challenge to the police refusal. Further details on the police’s reasons, the petitioner’s legal grounds and any directions issued by the High Court are expected to emerge when the matter is taken up on October 9.
