Minutes before the Cockroach Janta Party’s march at Central Park, Connaught Place, its founder Abhijeet Dipke was detained at his residence by Delhi Police; the march was called against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
New Delhi: Abhijeet Dipke, founder of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), was detained at his residence by the Delhi Police on Friday, October 16, shortly before he was due to join the party’s march at Central Park, Connaught Place, called to protest against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar [Delhi Police detention of CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke ahead of Connaught Place march].
The police said they were willing to allow 11 people to gather at the venue, carry the Tricolour and sing the national anthem. At the time of writing, the grounds of the detention, the provision invoked and whether Dipke has since been released were not known.
A notice, and an offer of 11
The Delhi Police had addressed a notice to the CJP and to Dipke. It said prohibitory orders were in force in Connaught Place and that the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) had not permitted the proposed march, and it warned that going ahead would violate the law.
The CJP’s response to the detention, and to the police offer of a gathering of 11 people, was not available at the time of writing.
Earlier in the week, and in the courts
The CJP called the Connaught Place march as the latest in a series of protests in Delhi against the Chief Election Commissioner. On October 10, Dipke and fellow CJP leaders Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka were held ahead of the party’s protest that day. On October 12, a Delhi Executive Magistrate released the three from preventive arrest and bound them to a one-year condition to keep the peace.
Pleas against Friday’s march reached both the Delhi High Court and the Supreme Court. On October 15, a Division Bench of the Delhi High Court, led by Acting Chief Justice Nitin Wasudeo Sambre, declined to bar the protest after an assurance on behalf of the authorities that law and order would be maintained. The NDMC then closed Central Park for October 16 and 17.
On Friday morning, a Supreme Court Bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi heard a mention by kirana traders against the protest call; the CJI said he hoped “better sense will prevail”, and Justice Bagchi observed that there are principles in law to compensate traders for business losses.
The Supreme Court is also hearing, separately, challenges arising from the October 10 protests: contempt pleas over Metro closures, pleas on the detention of protesters and journalists, and a challenge to Section 172 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, which empowers the police to detain or remove persons who resist or disregard their lawful directions.
Two positions, neither tested
The police position is that the march had no permission and that prohibitory orders barred it. In earlier statements, the CJP has maintained that its protests are peaceful and that the detention of its leaders is meant to stop them. No court has tested either account in relation to Friday’s events, and none has ruled on the legality of the detention.
Matter: Delhi Police detention of Cockroach Janta Party founder Abhijeet Dipke ahead of the Connaught Place march
Authority: Delhi Police
Date: October 16, 2026