The Youth Congress has moved the Delhi High Court against the Delhi Police’s refusal to let it hold a demonstration at Jantar Mantar against the Chief Election Commissioner, arguing that a blanket ban without an individualised assessment violates the freedom of speech and the right to assemble peacefully.
New Delhi: The Indian Youth Congress (IYC) has moved the Delhi High Court challenging the Delhi Police’s refusal to permit it to hold a demonstration at Jantar Mantar against Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar. The plea has been filed by IYC national president Uday Bhanu Chib and is likely to be heard next week.
It challenges the Delhi Police’s order of October 1, 2026, rejecting the IYC’s application, and has been filed through Advocate Roopesh Singh Bhadauria.
The IYC’s case
According to the plea, the IYC applied on September 25 for permission to hold a peaceful demonstration of around 100 to 150 people, undertaking to comply with all lawful conditions relating to security, traffic management, discipline and maintenance of public order. Despite repeated follow-ups, the plea states, the police communicated the rejection only on October 1, which was also the first proposed date of the demonstration.
Grounds of challenge
The petition contends that the police’s power to regulate assemblies does not extend to imposing a blanket prohibition without an individualised and proportionate assessment of the circumstances. It states that the decision violates the fundamental rights to freedom of speech and expression and to assemble peacefully under Articles 19(1)(a) and 19(1)(b) of the Constitution, and it also challenges the “mechanical application” of the guidelines governing protests and assemblies.
Related earlier proceedings
In a separate matter this month, the Delhi High Court asked the police how there could be a blanket ban on a protest at Jantar Mantar, suggesting that conditions or an alternative venue, rather than an outright refusal, were the lawful course. In another petition, the Kshatriya Karni Sena’s request to protest at Jantar Mantar is under consideration by the Delhi Police, and the protest matter has been listed for October 28.
Why the plea matters
The plea puts the limits of the police’s discretion over protest permissions before the High Court once again, this time in a dispute where the target of the proposed demonstration is a constitutional functionary, the Chief Election Commissioner. Its core submission is procedural: that permission cannot be refused by applying guidelines mechanically, and that any restriction on assembly calls for an individualised and proportionate assessment. The petition’s claims are yet to be tested, the Delhi Police’s position is yet to come before the Court, and no order has been passed.
Petitioner: Indian Youth Congress, through national president Uday Bhanu Chib
Order challenged: Delhi Police order dated October 1, 2026, rejecting permission for a demonstration at Jantar Mantar
Court: Delhi High Court
For the Petitioner: Roopesh Singh Bhadauria, Advocate