Two petitions by the same organisation came up before the Delhi High Court, one seeking permission to protest at Jantar Mantar, the other seeking the restoration of social-media accounts said to have been restricted. On the first, the law officer told the Court that the Delhi Police was in talks with the Deputy Commissioner and considering the request. On the second, the platform’s counsel pointed out that the petitioner had not even specified which posts he wanted restored. The Court gave both matters fresh dates.
New Delhi: The Delhi High Court has been informed that the Delhi Police is considering a request by the Kshatriya Karni Sena for permission to hold a protest at Jantar Mantar against reservation policies and the University Grants Commission Regulations, 2026 [Raj Shekhawat v. State and connected matter].
Additional Solicitor General Chetan Sharma made the submission before Justice Amit Mahajan, before whom two petitions relating to the organisation and its president were listed.
The two petitions
Advocate Roshan Dhanai, appearing for Karni Sena president Raj Shekhawat, informed the Court that two separate petitions were before it, one seeking reinstatement of a suspended social-media account, and the other seeking permission to hold a demonstration at Jantar Mantar. On the protest petition, he noted that on the previous date the Court had asked the ASG to take instructions from the Delhi Police regarding the request.
The ASG submitted that the authorities were in talks with the Deputy Commissioner on the request. Counsel for the petitioner submitted that a meeting had been held with Union Minister J.P. Nadda and that discussions were ongoing, but that the petitioner was pressing the petition, and suggested a date after three weeks. The Court listed the petition concerning permission to hold the protest at Jantar Mantar for October 28.
The social-media petition
In the second petition, concerning restrictions on social media, counsel for the petitioner told the Court that the organisation worked for society and that its Instagram and Facebook Live features had been restricted by the Government of India.
Advocate Varun Pathak, appearing for Meta, submitted that the petitioner had not provided the specific links he was seeking to have restored. The Court listed that matter for further hearing on November 2.
Why it matters
The protest petition sits within a recurring category of litigation over permission to demonstrate at Jantar Mantar, the designated protest site in the capital. The right to assemble peaceably and to protest is protected under Article 19 of the Constitution, subject to reasonable restrictions, and permission for a demonstration is, in the first instance, an administrative matter for the police, who weigh the request against considerations of public order, traffic and security. The Court’s role, as in similar cases it has heard recently, is to ensure that a request is considered on its merits and not refused arbitrarily; here, with the police recorded as considering the request, the Court has given the process time by listing the matter for a later date.
The social-media petition raises a distinct question about the restoration of restricted online content. The platform’s response, that the petitioner had not identified the specific posts or links sought to be restored, points to a practical threshold in such cases: a court cannot direct the restoration of content in the abstract, and a petitioner ordinarily has to identify the particular material and the basis on which its restriction is challenged. That is likely to be a live issue when the matter is next heard.
Nothing has been decided in either petition. The subject of the intended protest, reservation policy and the UGC Regulations, is a matter of public controversy on which the Court expressed no view; the proceedings so far concern only the permission to protest and the restoration of social-media access, both of which remain pending, listed for October 28 and November 2 respectively.
Case: Petitions by Raj Shekhawat, president of the Kshatriya Karni Sena, seeking permission to protest at Jantar Mantar and restoration of restricted social-media accounts
Bench: Justice Amit Mahajan, High Court of Delhi at New Delhi
Appearing: Additional Solicitor General Chetan Sharma; Advocate Roshan Dhanai for the petitioner; Advocate Varun Pathak for Meta
Status: Delhi Police considering the protest request; protest petition listed for October 28, social-media petition for November 2. Nothing decided.