A day after police and central security forces carried out a large-scale operation against a demonstration by the Cockroach Janta Party — whose members had assembled to demand the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar — Delhi began lifting several of the restrictions that had been imposed, with metro services resuming and internet connectivity returning by Sunday.
Gatherings of five or more people remained liable to detention across central Delhi, where prohibitory orders were still in place, while scattered groups chose to mount brief, unannounced demonstrations at a number of spots as the afternoon wore on. A security presence of roughly 30,000 officers, bolstered by 200 paramilitary companies, held positions at points throughout the city.
On Sunday morning, vehicle checks within a 10-km radius of Jantar Mantar were not carried out across the board, a departure from the approach taken the previous day. Three arterial routes feeding into Parliament Street — Ashoka Road, Tolstoy Road, and Janpath — had their access points held closed. Admission was limited to those who could produce valid identification. Fewer buses were made available to carry the detained protesters away.
Passengers making the Gurugram-to-Delhi journey passed through metro station platforms in both directions throughout the day. Crowd numbers at stations close to Jantar Mantar stayed thin throughout the period. Passengers who stepped off buses and metro cars at stops such as Janpath, Seva Teerth, and Patel Chowk spoke to reporters about their decision to stay away from the gathering, with many pointing to the detentions that had taken place the day before.
Enforcement activity at both MG Road and the Dwarka Expressway remained at a low level. Dispersed gatherings of demonstrators converged at points across New Delhi, chanting slogans before dispersing, with Left-affiliated student organisations and political parties among those who helped coordinate the activity.
Authorities took upwards of 500 individuals into custody. Roughly fifty to sixty members affiliated with the All India Students' Federation and the Krantikari Yuva Sangathan were taken into police custody in the vicinity of Palika Bazaar at midday. A short time later, CPI(M) MP John Brittas reached the same location and was taken into custody while addressing reporters. A complaint of assault by Central forces personnel was raised by him in the aftermath.
Around 1 pm, a call for a demonstration near RK Ashram Marg metro station came from Neha, who holds the national presidency of AISA. Roughly 200 personnel drawn from the police, Sashastra Seema Bal, and the Central Armed Police Forces had been stationed across the area, with women officers forming a notable portion of that contingent. Upwards of 50 members of the SFI procession near RK Ashram Marg were loaded onto police buses and removed from the area, with the demonstration having begun at approximately 2.15 pm.
Accounts of a procession through Connaught Place, led by AISA supporters alongside Neha, drew a police presence to the area. Police apprehended Neha and a group of her supporters at the Panchkuian intersection, transporting them by bus to a holding facility. Barricades went up at several points along the stretch connecting Connaught Place's inner circle to Panchkuian Road, placed there by police in the aftermath.
Roughly 50 to 60 demonstrators, organised under the DISHA banner, set off from Gate 1 of Rajiv Chowk metro station at 3.45 pm, raising vocal objections to the Chief Election Commissioner and the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls. Within roughly seven minutes of setting out, the procession was brought to a halt when personnel from Delhi Police, the Rapid Action Force, and the Central Reserve Police Force moved in to detain more than half of those taking part.
Unaffiliated with any political organisation, a contingent of students travelled to central Delhi on Sunday to add their voices to demands that CEC Kumar vacate his position. Lifted metro constraints opened a path to Connaught Place for a portion of those travelling, though the turnout stayed modest overall. Carrying placards, the marchers moved through streets where a considerable number of officers had been deployed.
A first-year Shri Ram College of Commerce student, who had travelled from Rajasthan without her parents' knowledge, told reporters she had taken part in the July demonstrations. Positioned behind a police barricade outside Palika Kendra, holding a handmade poster bearing the words "Gyanesh, it's done bro," she told those nearby that students hold the right to put questions forward. She said a desire to attend the previous day had been present, but apprehension over a potential encounter with law enforcement had kept that from happening.
A 21-year-old in his final year at St. Stephen's College, who was preparing for the UPSC examinations, described being unable to reach central Delhi the previous day. He noted that when he attempted to exit at Rajiv Chowk, he observed personnel from the security forces stopping and questioning students in the area. He told reporters he had taken a different route to Central Secretariat station and continued on foot, and that officers stopped him on the route toward Connaught Place to ask about his destination at roughly ten-minute intervals. He said his group's ability to move freely had been curtailed by the other party.