Farasat, a lawyer practising before the Supreme Court, was taken into custody by Delhi Police near the Safdarjung flyover while travelling to join a demonstration and provide legal support to those involved. He had been returning from a legal seminar when he received word that a demonstration was under way and proceeded to the location.
At the Safdarjung flyover, police had set up a road blockade and were in the process of detaining Neha Bora — president of the All India Students Association — with a crowd of roughly 200 to 300 students assembled at the scene. Farasat got out of his vehicle and approached the area, later recounting that Neha Bora had been held at the same location where he himself was subsequently detained, and that authorities then began taking into custody anyone they encountered at the protest site, including people who were present only as onlookers.
He was placed in a police van and driven a short distance before being released. Farasat noted that he had not been brought to any detention facility and that officers gave no explanation for holding him prior to his release.
Farasat told a television outlet that, in his view, the authorities and Delhi Police have been placing growing obstacles in the path of those wishing to voice opposition. He attributed the unrest unfolding nationwide not to the protests themselves but to the conduct of the administration and Delhi Police, and did not attribute responsibility for any breakdown in public order to those taking part in the demonstrations.
Farasat is among the lawyers who brought objections before the Supreme Court over the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls, and he attributed the spread of disorder to Delhi Police. His reservations centre on how the initiative has been designed, organised, and put into practice — a position he reinforced in his own words, describing the system as carrying a deep flaw rooted in its design, organisational framework, and day-to-day operation. When asked to clarify the extent of those concerns, he replied: "Every last bit of it."
Farasat voiced apprehension that the procedure stood to exclude substantial numbers of legitimate voters from electoral registers. He noted that members of the legal profession and retired judges had similarly flagged the matter as a concern, and he told reporters that voting rights faced a genuine threat.
Farasat also pointed to a directive from the Supreme Court that railway services should not be disrupted, stating that the order had not been observed in practice. He said the court had instructed the government to keep train lines running, yet the disruption took place regardless, and added that the responsibility for carrying out those directives now rests with the judiciary itself.
Farasat expressed the view that, in the dispute between the administration and opposition groups over the protest situation, judicial authority ultimately holds sway over the executive branch. He also stated that accommodation for peaceful demonstrations within the urban area needs to be factored into planning, and that balancing personal freedoms against whatever legitimate aims a government chooses to advance is central to what that body is empowered to do.
