Context: Protests against Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar intensified following a media investigation into the Election Commission of India (ECI). On October 2, 2026, prohibitory orders under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), Metro station closures, traffic restrictions and mass detentions were reported ahead of protests at Jantar Mantar, raising concerns over restrictions on peaceful dissent.
Restrictions on the Right to Protest
- Increasing restrictions in Delhi: Following the NEET protests of July 20, 2026, barricading around Jantar Mantar increased substantially; protesters reportedly have to submit applications 10 days in advance, while permission denials and restrictions on public movement have constrained demonstrations.
- Erosion of protest spaces: The Boat Club was an earlier designated protest site before demonstrations shifted to Jantar Mantar. Traditionally, rallies proceeded from Mandi House to Jantar Mantar or Parliament Street Police Station, while large demonstrations began at Ramlila Maidan and culminated on Parliament Street. Since the COVID-19 lockdown, permissions for these customary routes have reportedly become rare, with Parliament Street losing its symbolic role as a space for citizens to express dissent before elected representatives.
- Concerns over Section 163 of BNSS: Replacing Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), Section 163 empowers authorities to issue orders to prevent apprehended danger or public disorder. Its repeated use raises concerns about converting a provision for preventive regulation into a mechanism for suppressing demonstrations and exercising unchecked discretion against protests challenging government policies.
Judicial Position on Peaceful Protests
- Ramlila Maidan case (2012): The Supreme Court reaffirmed the importance of peaceful assembly and protest in a democracy while examining police action against demonstrators.
- Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan v. Union of India (2018): The Supreme Court recognised peaceful protest as a fundamental democratic right and directed authorities to frame guidelines for regulating demonstrations at Jantar Mantar, balancing the right to protest with public order and the rights of residents.
- Constitutional basis: Article 19(1)(a) guarantees freedom of speech and expression, while Article 19(1)(b) guarantees the right to assemble peaceably and without arms. These rights are subject to reasonable restrictions under Articles 19(2) and 19(3), respectively; restrictions must therefore satisfy constitutional requirements rather than operate as blanket prohibitions.
Restrictions on Protest Spaces Across India
- Bengaluru: Demonstrations formerly held at Town Hall were shifted to Freedom Park, where restrictions continued. In 2022, the Karnataka High Court confined demonstrations to Freedom Park; in December 2025, the park was reportedly closed for redevelopment, with electricity and water supplies cut off.
- Hyderabad: Dharna Chowk has become the designated location for permitted protests, restricting the geographical space available for public dissent.
- Farmers' protests (2024): Farmers marching towards Delhi in early 2024 encountered barricades, barbed wire, tear gas and trenches along the Haryana border.
- Emerging national pattern: Preventive detentions, prohibitory orders targeting workers' strikes and student marches, and Internet shutdowns have increasingly been used to manage dissent. The author attributes this pattern primarily to the BJP, describing a process in which protests are relocated, confined and eventually prohibited.
Dissent and Mass Mobilisation in Democracy
- International examples: The 2011 Tahrir Square movement in Egypt, Occupy Wall Street in the United States, the Paris Commune and the Petrograd Soviets illustrate how popular mobilisation can challenge established political authority and create alternative spaces for collective action.
- Major Indian movements: The Shaheen Bagh sit-in opposed the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) and the proposed National Register of Citizens (NRC); the 2020–21 farmers' protests mobilised demonstrators along Delhi's borders; and Left-led workers' and peasants' movements included the Mahapadav and Kisan Long March.
- Mahapadav (November 2023): Workers and farmers organised a three-day sit-in across State capitals, demonstrating the capacity of coordinated mobilisation to bring livelihood and labour concerns into the public sphere.
- Alternative spaces of resistance: When conventional protest sites are closed, mobilisation can shift to highways, borders, university campuses, digital networks and neighbourhoods (mohallas). The article argues that repression may strengthen solidarity, turning barricades into symbols of dissent rather than eliminating democratic aspirations.
Electoral Integrity and Democratic Institutions
- Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls: The article raises concerns that the revision process could cause large-scale disenfranchisement of poor people, migrants, minorities and women. It highlights the risk of deletion of short-term migrants, illiterate voters and married women, whose mobility, documentation or changes in residence may complicate enrolment.
- Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners Act, 2023: The Act provides for a selection committee comprising the Prime Minister, a Union Cabinet Minister nominated by the Prime Minister, and the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha (or leader of the largest opposition party). It replaced the earlier selection framework laid down by the Supreme Court, removing the Chief Justice of India from the committee.
- Protection of Election Commissioners: The Act provides statutory protection for official acts performed in the discharge of duties. The article criticises the breadth of this protection and its implications for accountability, arguing that electoral independence requires safeguards against both executive influence and inadequate accountability.
- Broader democratic concern: The author contends that restricting protests in public spaces while raising concerns about electoral-roll revisions undermines democracy through two channels: limiting citizens' ability to express dissent and potentially restricting their ability to participate in elections.
Way Forward
- Restore accessible protest spaces: Ensure meaningful access to Jantar Mantar, Parliament Street and other designated public spaces, with transparent, objective and time-bound procedures for granting permissions.
- Prevent misuse of prohibitory powers: Apply Section 163 of BNSS only where legally justified by the circumstances, with restrictions proportionate to the anticipated threat and subject to appropriate judicial scrutiny.
- Strengthen electoral safeguards: Ensure transparent electoral-roll revisions, accessible correction and appeal mechanisms, and protection against wrongful deletion, especially for vulnerable voters.
- Promote institutional accountability: Preserve the independence of the ECI through transparent appointments, adequate safeguards against executive influence and appropriate accountability mechanisms.
- Adopt a rights-based approach to public order: Avoid unnecessary detentions, excessive force, indiscriminate Internet shutdowns and blanket restrictions on peaceful demonstrations; protect both public safety and fundamental rights.
- Integrate democratic action: The author calls for democratic and secular forces to connect street protests, judicial remedies and electoral participation to defend the Constitution and democratic institutions.
Additional Information
1. Constitutional limitations on the right to protest
- The right to protest is not expressly listed as a separate fundamental right; it derives principally from Articles 19(1)(a) and 19(1)(b).
- The State may impose reasonable restrictions on assembly in the interests of public order and sovereignty and integrity of India, but restrictions must satisfy constitutional scrutiny.
- The right to assemble does not automatically confer a right to occupy any particular public space indefinitely or obstruct public movement without restriction.
2. Section 163 of BNSS, 2023
- Section 163 empowers an Executive Magistrate, a District Magistrate or another duly empowered Executive Magistrate to issue written orders in urgent cases of nuisance or apprehended danger, subject to statutory conditions.
- It replaced Section 144 of the CrPC, 1973, following the BNSS coming into force on July 1, 2024.
- The provision is preventive, not a general-purpose ban on dissent; its application must be assessed in light of necessity, proportionality, duration and the specific circumstances.
