Sunday Brings More Detentions As Police Hold Delhi Against Protesters

India’s Supreme Court sat on Sunday, outside its working week, and ordered the authorities to restore normal life in the capital and to ensure nobody was illegally detained for assembling peacefully.

Representational Image Via: @SFI_CEC

The court directed that Metro and railway services run normally, that internet facilities remain undisturbed as permitted by law and that people and traffic be allowed to move freely. It said lawyers must be able to work and recorded an assurance that neither lawyers nor journalists would be obstructed. Restrictions remained subject to the public order limits the constitution allows under Article 19.

Police removed barricades outside the court the same day. Three leaders of the Cockroach Janta Party were released after almost 24 hours in custody. An executive magistrate ordered that they commit no breach of the peace for a year. Police said a surety bond of 50,000 rupees had been furnished for good behaviour over that period.

The three were taken off an aircraft at Delhi airport on Saturday as they arrived to join a demonstration for which permission had been refused. They said afterwards they had signed nothing preventing them from protesting and would return to the streets. The movement is demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.

Demonstrations continued on Sunday and more people were detained as groups marched towards the Jantar Mantar protest ground from Connaught Place and Rajiv Chowk. Student organisations took part in the demonstrations. Detentions went on into the evening.

Journalists were also detained during the day. Three reporters from a Hindi-language newspaper were picked up in Connaught Place and released 45 minutes later about 12 kilometres away. Others were filmed showing press cards as they were led to buses.

The opposition’s plan to petition the judiciary met a rebuff. The Chief Justice declined a request from the leaders of the opposition in both houses to receive them on Monday and accept a memorandum seeking the election commissioner’s resignation. In a reply he is understood to have said the grievances were already before the court, that it had no power to take up such matters administratively, and that any petition filed on Monday would be heard the following day.

The opposition has called a march to the court regardless, from central Delhi on Monday. Police have already announced road diversions from early morning. The CJP said it would apply at a police station on Monday for a date to demonstrate lawfully, and would call its own protest if none was given within 24 hours.