Right to protest against public order in India: When can police crack down on peaceful demonstrations? What the law says | Today’s news

On 12 October, the Delhi Police designated Jantar Mantar as a designated site for protests in the national capital. Instead, three new venues – Ramlila Ground, Burari Ground and CBD Ground – have been earmarked for the purpose.

For more than three decades, Jantar Mantar has stood as the beating heart of protests in the national capital. It was known as a place where the angry, saddened and unheard gathered to make their voices count. But the move by Delhi authorities diverted the iconic stage of dissent away from the capital’s political heartland and corridors of power.

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Two of the new locations – CBD ground and Burari are a few miles away from central Delhi where the Parliament stands. The second Ramlila is located near the New Delhi railway station, and holding protests is costly.

The decision to designate Jantar Mantar came at a time when opposition parties, civil society groups such as Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) and student organisations, including the All India Students’ Association (AISA) and the Students’ Federation of India (SFI), staged protests and marches around Jantar Mantar demanding resignation Chief Election Commissioner (CEC), Gyanesh Kumar over irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls.

The move has been criticized as global protests tend to take place in spaces close to the corridors of power.

At the threshold of power, protests are organized across the world. Lafayette Square in Washington is directly opposite the White House in the US, Parliament Square and Whitehall in London, and Place De La Republique in Paris, France are classic examples.

Protests in India

The recent wave of protests began on June 6 when the CJP launched a stir against Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan demanding his resignation over leadership irregularities NEET medical competitive exam.

The minister finally resigned after a month-long protest at Jantar Mantar, an earlier designated venue for demonstrations in New Delhi, the national capital.

CJP protesters meet opposition parties again, this time demanding resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over irregularities in the functioning of the electoral commission during Special intensive revision (SIR) of voters’ lists.

18,629 Protests in 2026 in India: A Report

India has seen 18,629 demonstrations in 2026 through October 2, according to Reuters. Of those, 17,691 were mostly peaceful protests and 687 were categorized as violent demonstrations, according to ACLED, or the “Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project,” an independent nonprofit monitor of global conflicts.

At least 1,200 protests were met with police action, a Reuters report said. While Delhi remains the hub for the CJP big demonstrations this year, total the number of protests there fell to 364 from 543 in 2016. Protests were also held in Mumbai.

Demonstrations in India have grown significantly, rising from 10,642 in 2016 to more than 18,629 by October 2, 2026, after peaking at 22,130 in 2024, according to ACLED.

In August 2026, there were more than 2,500 demonstrations in India – including peaceful protests, protests with police intervention and violent demonstrations. police interventionwith more than 200 demonstrations met with force in August 2026, ten years to every month. a Reuters report said.

Protest is a fundamental right in a democracy that allows citizens to register dissent, demand accountability, and effect change in public policy.

Read also | ‘Jantar Mantar belongs to the people of India’: Rahul Gandhi vows to ‘reclaim’ the site

The struggle for independence is part of India’s protest culture. From the Chipko environmental movement to the Mandal Commission protests against caste reservations, the right to protest has been India’s democratic lifeline.

Protests ranged from the historic march to Dandi in the Salt Satyagraha led by Mahatma Gandhi to the Anna Hazare movement of 2011. The famous farmers’ protest of 2020-21 led the government to withdraw controversial agrarian laws.

What does the law say?

Although Indian law constitutionally protects the right to assembly, a message the author is a human rights lawyer Vrinda Grover for the International Center for Nonprofit Law (ICNL), and highlighted in a Reuters report, finds that these protections often fail in practice.

Ultimately, the decision to intervene rests with executive judges or the police.

New Delhi, India – October 8, 2026: Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge are seen on their way to Rajghat to pay tribute to the INDIA Bloc MPs and demand the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner IR Gyanesh Kumaral for alleged irregular elections under special regime. rolls, in New Delhi, India, on Thursday, October 8, 2026. Opposition leaders along with several MPs head towards the Mahatma Gandhi memorial after attending a lunch meeting in Connaught Place, the third consecutive day of protests against the Election Commission (Photo: Sanchit Khanna/Hindustan Times)(Hindustan Times)

Once the intervention is decided, Indian police rules require a step-by-step approach: persuasion and warning before force. If necessary, only minimal force should be used and stopped when order is restored. Those who refuse to break up can be legally detained. Reuters was unable to verify with police how exactly these instructions are being followed.

When can law enforcement stop a peaceful protest? Do organizers need permission before holding protests?

Peaceful, unarmed protest is protected under 19 paragraph 1 letter a) and Article 19 paragraph 1 letteraccording to Bhargava KS, managing partner at KS & BKS Law Associates, Bengaluru. “This is not inherently a law and order issue. Dissent, criticism of the government or nuisance does not in itself pose a threat to public order,” Bhargav KS told LiveMint.

Article 19 paragraph 1 letter a) and Article 19 paragraph 1 letter The Constitution guarantees freedom of speech and the right to assemble peacefully and without arms. But Article 19(2) and Article 19(3) allow authorities to impose reasonable restrictions, including in the interests of public order.

“Authorities can address specific wrongdoing and protect public access, but restrictions must have a legal basis and be necessary and reasonable. There’s a difference between regulating wrongdoing and stifling constitutional speech,” he said.

Apart from whether a protest is peaceful or not, there is another aspect that leads to police intervention. If the organizers move away from the designated place, even peacefully, this is also a violation of the permit, according to experts.

Can peaceful protest be banned?

Where the applicable law requires prior permission, the state can enforce this requirement even against a peaceful assembly, Bhargav KS said.

“However, the permitting process cannot become an arbitrary veto over constitutional rights. The refusal must be based on legally sustainable reasons and the restrictions must comply with Article 19, paragraph 2 and Article 19, paragraph 3. The mere absence of a permit in itself does not constitute a threat to public order, nor does it justify unreasonable police action,” he said.

Recently, the police detained the head of the CJP, calling it a prevention of arrest. A body authorized by law decides on preventive measures. According to Section 163 of the Act Bharatiya Citizen Security Codea District Magistrate, a Sub-Divisional Magistrate or a specially empowered Executive Magistrate may issue preventive orders and record material facts requiring immediate action.

“Under Section 170, the police can make an arrest to prevent a cognizable offense only if they have knowledge of an intention to commit it and it cannot be otherwise prevented. Both powers remain subject to judicial review,” he said.

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On 9 October, during a hearing on restrictions before the CJP protest, the Supreme Court questioned the proposed traffic restrictions, citing the principle of proportionality and warning against using a “hammer to kill a fly”.

The court said the measure could regulate traffic where necessary, but should not stop it indiscriminately.

What have the courts said?

In Himat Lal K Shah vs Commissioner of Police (1973), for example Highest The court ruled that the state could regulate assembly on public streets because the streets had competing public uses.

But the regulation cannot become an arbitrary power to ban gatherings altogether, courts have ruled in past instances. IN Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan vs Union of India (2018), a Jantar Mantar protests case, the court struck down a blanket ban and required the authorities to devise a regulatory mechanism balancing the rights of protesters against those of residents and commuters.

Although the police believe that there is no certain place According to a former Delhi Police official, who did not wish to be named, ideally an alternative should be provided that is suitable due to its capacity or security concerns.

So permission before protest is key. In the case of CJP’s protest in Jantar Mantar Vs Dharmendra Pradhanpermission was requested for one day. But the CJP extended the protest for more than a day and continued for about a month before Pradhan called it quits.

Inciting Anarchy: BJP

On 13 October, Union Home Minister Amit Shah mocked Rahul Gandhi and said that the Congress party under his leadership was losing after the elections.

Shah said that merely gathering a crowd of 8,000 people in an area of ​​one and a half kilometers would not make Rahul Gandhi the voice of the nation. Shah said that Rahul Gandhi needs to engage in some self-reflection, noting that the Congress has been repeatedly rejected by voters across North and Northeast India.

Shah’s remarks came after Rahul Gandhi led a massive INDIA Bloc protest on the streets of central Delhi on October 12 against the Election Commission and CEC Gyanesh Kumar.

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On October 10, BJP MP Ravi Shankar Prasad said based on the events of today and the previous three days, two things have become clear. “First, Indian democracy has foiled attempts to foment anarchy. Second, the country will be run by parliament, not the streets,” the former law minister said.

“We are not against protests, but you have used street protests as weapons for your electoral defeats,” Prasad said indirectly, blaming the Congress and other political parties for the street protests.

When does protest become anarchy?

Anarchy is a state of society without government, laws, or central authority, or a political philosophy that opposes state government in favor of voluntary cooperation. The word comes from the Greek anarchia (“without a ruler”). In a literal sense, this means a complete lack of government, police, or enforced legal systems.

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Protest does not automatically become anarchy, as most protests are expressions of political resentment or demands directed at the government, rather than attempts to destroy the state itself. However, under certain conditions, the protest turns into a state reminiscent of anarchy or serious civil unrest:

A demonstration devolves into practical anarchy when the established legal authorities, police or governing institutions completely lose the ability or power to maintain order, enforce laws or adjudicate disputes in the area. Or when protesters abandon peaceful assembly or structured demands and instead engage in widespread lawlessness, unpunished crime, destruction of property, and total mayhem public safety.

Politically, protest only develops into revolutionary anarchy when it actively seeks to dissolve or overthrow the government and replace it. state hierarchy with a leaderless or decentralized community structure.