More than 700 people were detained by Delhi Police following a gathering at Jantar Mantar on Friday, among them Aam Aadmi Party politicians Saurabh Bharadwaj, Sanjeev Jha, and Atishi, along with representatives from several student organisations. The demonstrators had assembled at the site to call for the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.

Members of the All India Students Association (AISA), the Students' Federation of India (SFI), the National Students' Union of India (NSUI), and allied student organisations joined political parties in the demonstrations. Those present cited concerns over reported irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls and the large-scale removal of voter registrations.

In a post on X, Bharadwaj stated that both he and Jha had been taken into custody while the demonstration remained orderly. Addressing party workers and supporters around him, he urged them to sustain the demonstration and proceed towards Jantar Mantar.

According to one police source, approximately 700 SFI members heading towards Jantar Mantar were intercepted at the Ashoka Road roundabout, where a number of them were detained. A second police source put the total number of people taken into custody at roughly 700, with those held at and in the vicinity of Jantar Mantar including representatives from AAP, AISA, SFI, and various other student groups. An earlier figure of around 150 detainees had been given by an official earlier in the day.

Mobile connectivity was cut off both at the demonstration site and across neighbouring areas. Entry and exit points at 12 stations along the Delhi Metro network — among them Rajiv Chowk, Central Secretariat, and Jantar Mantar — were closed to passengers.

Aishe Ghosh, general secretary of SFI, reported that a number of activists from both the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) and SFI had been detained. She questioned why Delhi Police, which she said had struggled to contain crime across the capital, appeared to mobilise readily in connection with the protection of Gyanesh Kumar. She stated that the process underway bore no resemblance to genuine democratic governance.

Activists from AISA maintained that officers resorted to physical force during the arrests, including against women. In a group statement, AISA warned that detentions would not halt the broader protest effort. One member of the organisation, apprehended in the vicinity of Jantar Mantar, stated that no level of baton use or mass detention would deter the demand for Gyanesh Kumar's resignation. The CPI(ML) Liberation-linked student body contended that the police response was directed at suppressing public scrutiny of the electoral process.

Among those detained at the location was Vinod Jakhar, the national president of the NSUI, along with a number of the organisation's other members. Police detained Jakhar while the group was on foot, moving along the route between the organisation's office and Jantar Mantar. In a post on X, Jakhar reported that a number of NSUI members had been detained and that participants in the march had faced action from police. He stated that no authority would be able to silence the votes of the people and that the organisation's push for democratic rights through non-violent means would continue.

At Firoz Shah Road, a number of demonstrators moved past barricades that had been set up along the route. In a recorded address, Bharadwaj noted that officers had informed the group that no authorisation existed for the gathering. He raised the question of why any such authorisation should be necessary at a venue formally designated for public demonstrations. He noted that the party had filed protest-permission letters approximately a week prior to the event.

Bharadwaj described the gathering as an exercise of democratic rights and noted that a number of metro stations in the vicinity of Jantar Mantar had been shut down. He urged those planning to attend to make their way to the nearest accessible station before proceeding on foot to the venue. Internet access was also taken down across the area surrounding Jantar Mantar.