Delhi Police announced cases filed over breaches of prohibitory orders covering Connaught Place and several other areas of New Delhi, with the announcement coming the day after Friday's protests. Notices urging people to stay away from Connaught Place went unheeded, as a crowd formed in the area regardless, police officials said.
Formal complaints under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), covering breaches of prohibitory orders, are set to be filed, with those found to have committed prior infractions also facing further measures, according to authorities.
On Friday, a Tiranga rally was held near Central Park in Connaught Place, drawing a visible police and security presence throughout the area. The demonstration drew AAP members and their supporters into the streets, with participants directing the rally at the Election Commission over what they described as irregularities in how the voting process had been conducted.
Abhijeet Dipke, who established the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), had called on members of the public to gather at Central Park on 16 October and raise the national flag under the banner of the 'Lehra Do Tiranga' rally. Authorities took approximately 150 people into custody during gatherings that unfolded across central Delhi, according to officials.
Dipke was among those taken into custody, apprehended as he departed the home of NCP-SCP spokesperson Anish Gawande, shortly before the planned rally was set to take place. A law enforcement officer informed Dipke that prohibitory orders active in Connaught Place formed the basis for taking him into preventive custody.
Two separate formal notices were additionally delivered to Dipke by the relevant authorities. Under Section 163 of the BNSS, a notice drawn up by the New Delhi district administration placed Central Park off-limits for him, citing active curbs on gatherings in public spaces. A bond violation notice from the South-West Delhi district — the second document — arose from prior preventive proceedings that had named Dipke, Ashutosh Ranka, and Saurav Das.
Members of the All India Students' Association, along with activists from affiliated Left-leaning parties, were detained by Delhi Police after assembling near Mandi House to demand the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Kumar. Neha Bora, who holds the position of national president at AISA, was taken into custody on Friday evening and later released once the process required under Section 65 of the Delhi Police Act had run its course.
Following her release, Bora stated that people with no prior criminal history were being held under conditions she considered more fitting for convicted offenders, and she raised questions about whether detaining individuals overnight had any lawful basis, adding that the rule of law was being undermined at every turn. She told those present that members of the public routinely face treatment more fitting for convicted offenders — a pattern, she argued, that the country has done little to address over many years.
Bora also took issue with the restrictions put in place across central Delhi, calling for Gyanesh Kumar's removal through impeachment proceedings and urging a halt to the Election Commission's Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls, while questioning what she described as prevailing disorder. She appealed for the wellbeing of India's population to be taken into account and called for a stop to what she described as the spread of disorder across the country.
Bora called for Gyanesh Kumar's removal from office and a suspension of the SIR process, arguing that voters across the country would only see their electoral rights protected once those steps were taken. She added that access to legal counsel was not made available to her at the outset of her detention, and that members of her legal team had spent between five and six hours attempting to reach her.
Bora and Dipke were taken into custody on Friday evening, with Delhi Police citing preventive provisions tied to the protest that had taken place on October 16. A new preventive matter brought Dipke before proceedings invoking Sections 126 and 170 of the BNSS. Following his detention, the case was referred to the Special Executive Magistrate (SEM) court, where a hearing will determine how proceedings advance.
A distinct legal proceeding against Dipke stands apart from an earlier preventive matter, under which authorities took him into custody on 10 October while he was aboard a flight. Under the terms of that matter, a surety bond committing him to keep the peace stood in force for twelve months.
A post on X attributed to CJP's Ratna Singh stated that Abhijeet Dipke's whereabouts had not been disclosed to his legal representatives following his detention, with the statement noting that he would be brought before the SEM court. Singh noted in the post that his location had yet to be established and that legal counsel had not been granted access.
Residents of Delhi faced road blockages on multiple routes used for their daily commute, with congestion affecting travel across the city. In a separate development, video creator Dhruv Rathee disclosed his arrival in London and called for demonstrations abroad over what he described as voting irregularities in India. A gathering outside the Mahatma Gandhi statue in Parliament Square was set for noon, and those in London were called upon to take part.
Pushback from Opposition leaders, INDIA bloc parties, and student organisations over the Election Commission's SIR exercise — and broader questions about how the electoral process has been handled — forms the backdrop against which these developments are unfolding.