ACP Manasvi Vashishta suspended a day after protest outside Delhi Police HQ; lawyer slams HC over ‘police remarks’

The standoff between Delhi Police and city lawyers continued on Tuesday (Nov 3, 2026), with the Union Home Ministry ordering the suspension of Deputy Commissioner of Police Manasvi Vashisht, a day after he led a protest against his transfer following a scuffle with lawyers at Shahdara police station last month.

Meanwhile, a lawyer has moved the Delhi High Court to seek an independent probe into allegations that serving Delhi Police officers threatened and made derogatory remarks against lawyers during the protest.

The public interest litigation (PIL), filed by advocate Karan Bir Singh, named the Union of India, Delhi Police Commissioner Anurag Kumar, Special Commissioner of Police (Vigilance), Mr Vashishta and Sub-Inspector Vishal Yadav as respondents.

The plea said Mr Vashishta’s suspension did not address wider allegations of criminal intimidation, the conduct of other police officers or the need for institutional safeguards.

The plea also alleged that videos circulating on social media showed Mr. Vashishta making threatening and derogatory remarks to defense lawyers, including statements suggesting that defense lawyers visiting police stations in groups of five could be detained.

The PIL came hours after a group of lawyers urged the Supreme Court to take suo motu action against Mr. Vashisht for his alleged remarks against defense lawyers during the protest on Monday. However, the High Court refused to take suo motu cognizance and asked them to file a formal application with supporting material.

‘The spirit was not discouraged’

Reacting to the suspension, Mr Vashishta said in a video message that his spirits remained undaunted and urged others to remain determined. “The suspension is not a big bad thing. It’s just a departmental measure. I believe in the system that there will be a fair investigation and a fair verdict,” he said.

The suspension order, issued by Deputy Minister Rakesh Kumar Singh, said that ministerial proceedings were contemplated against Mr Vashisht, a DANIPS officer, in 2019. It cited rule 10 of the Central Civil Services (Classification, Review and Appeal) Rules, 1965, which allows suspension of a civil servant if disciplinary proceedings against him are contemplated or pending if his activities are considered prejudicial national security or if they are under investigation, investigation or legal process.

The order stated that Mr. Vashishta’s headquarters would remain in Delhi for the duration of his suspension and that he could not leave the capital without prior permission from the appropriate authority.

Mr. Vashishta would receive a subsistence allowance equal to the leave pay at half average pay or half pay together with family maintenance allowance. The payment was conditional upon the production of a certificate that he is not engaged in any other business, profession or occupation for profit, reward or salary, the order added.

Protest against transfer

More than 100 policemen in Delhi staged a protest outside the police headquarters on Monday demanding withdrawal of the transfer orders of Mr. Vashishta and Inspector Shahdara Station House Officer (SHO) Arun Kumar. The two officers were transferred on October 28 following a scuffle at the Shahdara police station five days earlier.

The lawyer reportedly suffered a serious head injury in the October 23 incident, prompting lawyers at Delhi’s district courts to go on an indefinite strike demanding action against the policemen concerned. The lawyers called off the strike after the transfer orders were issued.

Mr. Vashishta has been transferred from his post as SDPO, Gandhi Nagar, to the Women and Children Special Police Unit, while Mr. Arun Kumar has been transferred to the Delhi Police Security Branch.

After nearly three hours, Delhi Police Commissioner Anurag Kumar and other senior officers met the protesting police officers and heard their demands. These included creating a standard operating procedure for dealing with confrontations with lawyers, limiting the number of lawyers entering a police station to five at a time, and registering FIRs against lawyers who allegedly misbehaved with police personnel.

Lawyers move HC

Earlier in the day, a group of lawyers alleged in their High Court plea that during the police protest, expressions like “use of AK-47” and “kale coat ke gunde (beating in black coats)” were used against members of the legal fraternity.

However, Acting Chief Justice Nitin Wasudeo Sambre and Justice Sanjay Sharma refused to initiate the proceedings themselves and asked the lawyers to file a formal application with supporting material.

“You file a formal petition. We are a court registry and we have to have something before us. What is suo motu? We are telling you, whatever material you have, put it in the form of a petition and place it in the registry so that it can be placed before the court for inquiry. Do that and we will look into it,” the Bench observed.

Published – November 3, 2026 09:48 IST