The Cockroach Janta Party served Delhi Police with a formal notice, setting a 24-hour window for the force to confirm a date for a rally at Jantar Mantar — a gathering the party intends to hold over its stated concerns about alleged discrepancies in the electoral roll revision process, with the final scheduling left at the police's discretion. At the time the application reached authorities, police declared Jantar Mantar no longer a designated site for demonstrations, leaving the CJP's planned action without a clear path forward.
Well ahead of the arrival of party co-convenors Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka at Parliament Street police station — where they planned to hand over a letter outlining their demand — the surrounding roads had already been cordoned off and staffed with security personnel. Barricades and officers on foot extended as far as Firoz Shah Road, a stretch roughly ten minutes from the scene.
Near Parliament Street, movement into the area was curtailed, with public address systems broadcasting repeated notices that Section 163 of the BNSS had been invoked. Compliance with established rules and regulations was communicated as an expectation of all parties involved. Immediately outside the police station, a heightened security presence was in place, with loudspeaker notices directing people to keep clear of road barriers while separate advisories outlined the conditions under which media personnel could operate.
Ranka explained that the group had approached the police with a written request, asking them to propose a date on which the planned demonstration could take place. Upon entering the room, the DCP withdrew after noticing others already present. A meeting with him did not take place. Neither the additional DCP nor the SHO was on hand. Reports that the building had been emptied of officers following the arrival of CJP members were in circulation, though no confirmation had been independently established.
The organisation's letter to authorities put the number of police and paramilitary personnel stationed across Delhi over the preceding three days at more than 55,000, a level it argued had interfered with the city's day-to-day functioning. The document raised concerns about unlawful detentions, physical mistreatment, and extended custody affecting members of the public and members of the press, while also drawing attention to the financial harm faced by businesses that were compelled to close their doors.
Road closures, barricades, and the withholding of Jantar Mantar as an approved venue for demonstrations were among the factors the party identified as contributing to a broader sense of public hardship. Among its stated demands were a drawdown of security personnel on the ground, a halt to what it described as unlawful detentions and the targeting of independent journalists, and authorisation to hold protests at a pre-approved location.
Das conveyed the view that peaceful protest stands as a right embedded in democratic life. The party maintained that the preceding day's events bore the hallmarks of a government mobilising force against its own population, while also asserting that students, young people, and members of the public hold a constitutionally protected entitlement to gather and demonstrate without interference.
Shortly after the Jantar Mantar denotification became public knowledge, Ranka posted on social media asking why Mount Everest had not been put forward as the designated protest site. According to a social media post by Abhijeet Dipke, who founded CJP, the designated protest venue at Jantar Mantar had its official notification pulled by authorities roughly half an hour after the organisation contacted Delhi Police to arrange a date for staging a demonstration at that location.
The scheduled action, set for the following day, would strip formal recognition from democratic processes. Gatherings at Jantar Mantar drew a visible deployment of officers, and confrontations that broke out between groups left the surrounding area unsettled. A slogan reported among some demonstrators — "Ab poora desh Jantar Mantar banega" — conveyed the message that protests would spread across the country.