Delhi High Court refuses urgent hearing for Youth Congress Jantar Mantar protest plea

The Delhi High Court has refused to grant an urgent hearing to the Indian Youth Congress over its bid to hold a protest at Jantar Mantar, telling the political group its case can wait until Monday.

The Youth Congress is challenging a Delhi Police decision on 1 October that blocked its application to hold a demonstration against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. The organisation wants to stage a protest of up to 150 people to demand the commissioner’s resignation over alleged electoral roll irregularities.

Appearing before a bench led by Acting Chief Justice Nitin Sambre, senior advocate Sanjoy Ghose pressed for an immediate listing of the case on Friday. Justice Sambre declined the request, asking: "What is the urgency? We will hear it on Monday."

Security clampdown at Jantar Mantar

The legal setback for the Youth Congress comes amid a wider, highly restrictive security clampdown in New Delhi. The city police have denied permission to another political group, the Cockroach Janta Party, which had planned a youth-led march to Jantar Mantar on Saturday, 10 October, to protest against alleged "vote theft".

Joint Commissioner of Delhi Police Nupur Prasad said the group’s application was rejected because it was submitted too late, violated previous undertakings, and posed a risk to public safety. Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, which bans unauthorised gatherings, is currently active across the New Delhi district.

To enforce the restrictions, transport authorities are preparing for significant disruptions. Police have written to the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation proposing the closure of entry and exit gates at 57 key stations, including Rajiv Chowk and Central Secretariat, starting Friday evening.

Despite the police warnings, Cockroach Janta Party leader Abhijeet Dipke said he would defy the restrictions and march to Jantar Mantar anyway. Writing on social media, Dipke alleged that thousands of young people had already been detained across the country ahead of the planned weekend protest.

Supreme Court protects student protesters

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court on Friday shut down a separate attempt to revive criminal investigations against students who took part in previous protests organised by the same party in July.

A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi, and Justice V Mohana rejected a petition by L Ramanathan, who argued that the court had overreached by previously quashing the police files.

The judges strongly defended their use of extraordinary constitutional powers under Article 142 to throw out the cases, stating they acted to protect the futures of young demonstrators who had hit the streets over the NEET exam paper leak.

"Please appreciate, these are young students," Chief Justice Surya Kant said during the hearing. "We have to see their parents, their future. We don’t want them to have to come to court over and over again."