Two first information reports were filed by police after INDIA bloc members made their way on foot to the Supreme Court premises in Delhi on Monday, as contestation over election outcomes continued to draw organised responses across the country. Two separate petitions — one before the Supreme Court, the other lodged with the Delhi High Court — are due to come up for hearing on Tuesday, both touching on the protests and a dispute over whether Jantar Mantar retains its status as an authorised venue for public demonstrations.
The Election Commission's Special Intensive Revision of voter rolls has become the focal point of a political dispute, with opposition figures using the process as grounds to call on Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar to vacate his post. Two separate first information reports were filed in connection with the procession held on Monday — one at Barakhamba Road and the other at Tilak Marg police station — PTI reported.
PTI, citing unnamed sources, reported that Rahul Gandhi — who holds the post of Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha and leads the Congress party — is planning to bring together INDIA bloc parliamentarians, civil society figures, and student activists at his home for a high-tea event on Tuesday. A joint press conference by opposition parties is anticipated for the afternoon, where questions over the Chief Election Commissioner's conduct and reported voting irregularities are set to be raised.
On Monday, INDIA bloc members of parliament — with Gandhi leading the column — marched through the city's streets under a banner calling for the protection of democratic rights. Police stopped the march on Bhagwan Das Road, yet Gandhi and other opposition figures reached the Supreme Court, where legal representatives filed petition documents contesting the Election Commission on their behalf.
Gandhi and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge jointly sought a meeting with Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, citing alleged electoral fraud — which they referred to in Hindi as "vote chori" — as the matter they wished to raise. Among those joining Gandhi as co-petitioners on the filing are Akhilesh Yadav of the Samajwadi Party, Tejashwi Yadav from the RJD, Saugata Roy representing the TMC in Parliament, Sanjay Raut of the Shiv Sena (UBT), Supriya Sule who holds an NCP (SP) parliamentary seat, and D Raja, who serves as general secretary of the CPI.
Irregularities in voter deletions carried out during the SIR exercise are at the centre of the scrutiny that the petition is calling for. The petition further calls on the Supreme Court to compel production of documents tied to Election Commission rulings and to direct that an inquiry be carried out by an independent body.
Two petitions addressing unrest that unfolded across Delhi on October 10 and 11 are set to come before the Supreme Court for consideration. Two petitions came before the court — one lodged by the Supreme Court Bar Association and a second brought to attention by advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, according to PTI. Four petitions filed before the court centre on reported interference with legal proceedings and the work of lawyers, alongside accounts of physical assaults carried out against attorneys, young people, and others taking part in the protests.
On an earlier occasion, the three-judge panel led by CJI Surya Kant and joined by Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana made clear that neither the day-to-day operation of courts nor the free movement of lawyers could be impeded. Petitions tied to the demonstrations, along with questions over whether Jantar Mantar retains its status as an authorised venue for public gatherings, are among the matters the Delhi High Court has set down for hearing.
Two co-convenors of the Cockroach Janata Party — Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das — were taken into police custody at Jantar Mantar on Tuesday morning. Footage uploaded to X by Ranka showed him alongside others scaling a gate at the protest location while holding the Tricolour aloft, with the accompanying caption reading "Hands Off Jantar Mantar!"; his detention followed as a 24-hour deadline the party had issued to Delhi Police over a permitted protest date was drawing to a close. On that Monday, Ranka and Das arrived at Parliament Street police station to apply for permission to hold a demonstration at Jantar Mantar.
Barricades went up and personnel took position across multiple locations in central Delhi on Tuesday, keeping the area under an elevated state of readiness. Motorists were put on notice by Delhi Traffic Police that road access across parts of the city could face disruption tied to the prevailing public-order situation, with route changes or movement restrictions left open as a possibility depending on how conditions develop.
Federal authorities have kept Central Armed Police Forces personnel stationed across Delhi on an open-ended basis, with no withdrawal timeline announced. Departure from Delhi for roughly 110 companies — collectively accounting for close to 11,000 personnel — had been pencilled in for the night of 12 October. A request to keep 273 CAPF companies in place through 20 October has been filed by Delhi Police, according to PTI.
Passengers travelling through the capital's metro network on Tuesday found every station operational, with the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation confirming that boarding, alighting, and transfer points were all functioning normally.
Tensions deepened after documentation came to light showing that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi formally registered objections no fewer than 14 times across a ten-month span, with the two commissioners indicating in several instances that certain decisions and orders had gone through without their awareness. According to a statement from the Election Commission, every decision handed down by the three-person panel — including those touching on the SIR exercise — drew unanimous support from all its members.
Calls for transparency over how the electoral roll was revised — and for action to be taken against the Chief Election Commissioner — have drawn opposition leaders and activists into street demonstrations over the row.
