Delhi sees fresh crackdown despite SC order

Fresh chaos gripped the Indian capital of New Delhi on Sunday as several groups protested against the India’s polls body chief and police continued their crackdown, apprehending people, including journalists, despite a top court order against illegal detentions.     
The Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) on Sunday accused the authorities of imposing an “open Emergency” in the national capital, alleging that extensive security restrictions, metro station closures and disruptions to train services were intended to suppress its youth-led movement demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
Addressing a joint press conference in New Delhi, CJP activists Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka criticised the heavy security deployment and alleged that the restrictions had inconvenienced ordinary citizens in an attempt to turn public opinion against the protest.
Drawing parallels with the 1975 Emergency, Das alleged that Delhi had effectively been turned into a cantonment, with between 30,000 and 40,000 security personnel deployed across the city.
“The situation across the country right now mirrors an open Emergency. Such repressive conditions have not been witnessed since the dictatorial regime of 1975,” Das said.

He alleged that the deployment included border troops and personnel airlifted from Kashmir, Bengal and Naxal-affected regions. Das said the security measures went beyond restricting protesters and were affecting residents who had no connection with the agitation.
The CJP leader also accused the administration of deliberately disrupting public transport and commercial activity to generate resentment against the movement.
A bus packed with the detainees at Connaught Place included two journalists and at least two protesters who were bruised and bleeding. 
Overall, about 100 protesters were packed into two buses and removed from the area. A man was pulled out of a burger joint on suspicion of being a protester. A video of the incident showed him telling the cops that he was simply standing at the spot and that he would not go with the team. The cops later let him go.   
The journalists – including one from a national daily, from digital news platforms and camera persons – were detained from outside the Press Club of India on Raisina Road, Connaught Place and RK Ashram Marg. More than 70 people were held outside the Press Club of India.
The police action came despite the top court’s order earlier in the day that peaceful, unarmed protesters cannot be detained except in accordance with the “procedure established by law”. The court also said the police cannot detain such peaceful protesters beyond the area covered by a prohibitory order under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS). 
In a special sitting, a Bench of Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana asked Solicitor General Tushar Mehta to ensure that Delhi Metro functions as per its normal schedule, and that there is no disruption to Internet services, subject to law and order conditions.
Meanwhile, India on Sunday rejected as “unwarranted” the United Nations Human Rights Office’s concerns over the detention of protesters during the Cockroach Janata Party’s (CJP) demonstration in Delhi, with the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) asserting that law enforcement authorities had acted “strictly in accordance with the law”.
In a video statement posted on X, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said the Indian Constitution guaranteed the right to peaceful assembly, which was safeguarded by the country’s institutions, an independent judiciary and a free media.

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