The Supreme Court declined on Friday to take up an expedited hearing on a petition contesting the New Delhi Municipal Council's move to close Central Park in Connaught Place ahead of the Cockroach Janta Party's planned 'Lehra Do Tiranga' march, with the bench expressing a hope that all parties involved would exercise restraint and good judgement.

The two-judge panel — led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and joined by Justice Joymalya Bagchi — noted that shutting down businesses would place real hardship on small traders and their households. The bench also observed that the freedom to protest, public order, and the economic welfare of vendors were bound up together, before expressing the hope that all parties would arrive at a measured resolution.

Vendors running small retail outlets rely on this period to bring in the bulk of their income. In its remarks, the panel indicated that the pressures and day-to-day realities bearing down on families had registered with the court.

Justice Bagchi indicated that the bench retained authority to invoke its constitutional powers in cases where the restrictions in question led to measurable commercial harm, adding that documented losses to trade would be the threshold for that intervention. He indicated the matter would be dealt with once it actually arose.

Counsel for the petitioner informed the bench that orders had come from the NDMC late on Thursday night, directing Central Park to be shut down and thereby cutting off access for nearby businesses. Gates to the park were set to stay shut on 16 and 17 October, following a notice from the municipal authority citing internal operational grounds. Dates of 26 or 27 October were floated by the bench as possible slots for taking up the petition.

Abhijeet Dipke, who founded CJP, urged residents to gather at Central Park carrying the national flag when the clock reached 5 pm that Friday. The party declared plans for a march following the detention of party leaders Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka, who were taken into custody on allegations of entering Jantar Mantar — a venue that had lost its status as a designated protest area — and voicing calls for Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar to step down. Both Das and Ranka were placed under five days of judicial custody, with Tihar Jail assigned as their place of detention.

Organisers announced their intention to go ahead with the march even as the venue remained closed to the public and additional security measures were in place.

In a post on X, Dipke disputed allegations that the party was stoking disorder, and separately argued that the administration had placed restrictions on civil liberties. His position held that the economic harm attributed to demonstrations was instead traceable to government-imposed closures of public areas, movement restrictions, and the cutting of internet access.

Dipke also put forward a defence of the party's peaceful approach, noting that demonstrations had been held across a number of cities — among them Mumbai, Pune, Jaipur, Lucknow, Bengaluru, and Nagpur. He conveyed through a statement that the party was not seeking preferential treatment or advantages of any kind. In a written statement, Dipke put forward the position that the entitlements held by every citizen of the Republic ought to be accessible regardless of which political party holds governmental authority.

Speaking at a Thursday news conference, he urged political parties and civil society organisations to set aside their differences in ideology and join the planned demonstration, contending that the protection of voting rights could not be separated from the health of democratic governance.

The organisation has drawn a connection between its advocacy drive and what it describes as procedural irregularities in the Election Commission's Special Intensive Revision of voter rolls. Dipke put forward a figure of over 13 crore removed voter registrations, contending that alterations on that scale carried the potential to shift the direction of election results. No court ruling has yet confirmed those assertions or the accompanying accusations of intentional manipulation.

A planned march has taken shape against a backdrop of unresolved friction between the CJP and Delhi Police, with demonstrations targeting Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and the SIR exercise at the centre of the dispute. According to a statement from Delhi Police, Connaught Place falls outside the areas formally set aside for public demonstrations. Protests and rallies, a police spokesperson noted, would be accommodated at three designated venues — Ramlila Maidan, Burari Ground, and CBD Ground — provided organisers first secured the necessary approvals.

Paramilitary units took up positions at points around Connaught Place and Jantar Mantar as the security presence in those areas was reinforced. Barricades went up along the route as officers managed the flow of both demonstrators and commuters.

The NDMC's move to close Central Park was announced Thursday, a day after the CJP had publicised its planned march. The park occupies the central green space nestled within the ring road that defines Connaught Place's inner circle. Protests organised by the party took root in Mumbai on 2 October before the movement carried its demonstrations northward to Delhi.

Three individuals — Dipke, Das, and Ranka — were taken into custody at the airport on October 10 upon landing from Mumbai, with a rally at Jantar Mantar scheduled to take place shortly after their arrival. Holding the national flag, CJP members walked into the cordoned-off Jantar Mantar grounds on 13 October and were taken into custody by authorities.

Both opposition parties and student organisations mounted separate rounds of demonstrations against the SIR exercise. Members of the INDIA bloc gathered on 6 October to advance toward the Election Commission's offices, though law enforcement barricades brought their procession to a halt. A delegation of opposition figures carried their grievances directly to President Droupadi Murmu in a meeting held on 9 October.

A planned march through Connaught Place has drawn renewed attention to three questions facing the national capital: how electoral rolls are revised, where demonstrations may be held, and what limits apply to protest venues.